Mississippi: Governor blocks legalization of medical cannabis

While Mississippi voters voted in favor of legalizing medical cannabis in November 2020, Governor Tate Reeves is so far blocking efforts to enact the law in the state.

The Republican governor's refusal to call a special session prevents legislators from considering and passing the bill approving medical cannabis.

A bill that bounces back and forth

Mississippi's House and Senate leaders are currently attempting to implement a medical cannabis program to replace the initiative approved by voters in November. State Supreme Court justices effectively struck down the initiative in May, when they deemed the proposal's language obsolete and unworkable.

House and Senate negotiators have been working all summer on a medical marijuana program to replace Initiative 65.

Reeves, who has the exclusive power to call legislators into special session, had said he would do so once lawmakers had reached consensus on a bill. They did in September, but Reeves gave lawmakers a last-minute list of things he didn't like about the bill.

The latest version of the bill would authorize larger cultivation facilities, restructure the excise tax on medical cannabis (to a flat rate of 5% on cultivator sales rather than an excise tax of 15$ per ounce on products) and limit the regulatory role of the state's Department of Agriculture to turn the licensing process over to the Department of Health.

Republican Senator Kevin Blackwell of Southaven recently sent the latest draft to other senators, and said further changes are expected to ensure that cannabis facilities can't receive financial incentives to expand.

«This revised draft incorporates input from the Senate, House and Governor's office,» wrote Blackwell in an e-mail.

Mississippi legislators said they had accepted many of Reeves' requested changes, but others were unreasonable. As governor, Reeves can't control what legislators pass, but he can veto any measure after the fact.

If Reeves doesn't call a special session as promised, members plan to address the issue during the regular legislative session that begins in January 2022.

Veto by fundamentalist Christian associations

While Governor Tate Reeves is, at this point, the only person blocking lawmakers’ efforts to move forward on medical cannabis, The’American Family Association is also working to dissuade Mississippi legislators from passing a medical cannabis bill.

In an 8-page memo addressed in particular to the governor, the Christian fundamentalist association asserts that the medical cannabis program would harm state employers, landowners, churches and religious organizations, and allow medical cannabis users «to stay on their couches collecting welfare».

It also claims that cannabis consumption «is immoral», that it «significantly compromises a person's ability to act rationally (unlike a glass of wine, for example)» and that «THC promotes dependence and addiction».