Mississippi legalizes medical marijuana

Medical marijuana is legal in Mississippi after Gov. Tate Reeves signed legislation legalizing the plant for medical use on Wednesday, Feb. 3. Senate Bill 2095 — the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act — authorizes the use of cannabis for individuals with qualifying medical issues to use marijuana as treatment. Mississippi becomes the 37th state in the union to legalize marijuana in some way. 

The 445-page bill codifies every inch of what Mississippi’s medical marijuana program will look like, from the transportation of marijuana to its distribution. The Mississippi State Department of Health, who will oversee the program, will begin accepting medical marijuana license applications in June. 

Individuals who wish to benefit from the program will have to be certified by a qualified medical practitioner after an in-person exam and acquire a registry identification card from the MSDH. Dispensaries — stores that sell cannabis — cannot be located within 1,000 feet of childcare facilities, schools or churches without special permission. Patients are authorized to purchase up to three ounces — just over 85 grams — per month. 

My statement on the medical marijuana bill: pic.twitter.com/VTpXbfMv6C

— Governor Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) February 2, 2022

“There is no doubt that there are individuals in our state who could do significantly better if they had access to medically prescribed doses of cannabis,” Reeves wrote in a statement shared to Twitter. “There are also those who really want a recreational marijuana program that could lead to more people smoking and less people working, with all of the societal and family ills that that brings.” 

This signing of this legislation marks the end of a saga that stretches over a year for those who voted for Initiative 65 in November 2020. Mississippi voters overwhelmingly voiced their support at the polls for medical marijuana, but the initiative was struck down by the Mississippi Supreme Court, after justices argued the Mississippi ballot initiative process was constitutionally flawed.