Mississippi Becomes The 37th State To Legalize Medical Cannabis

Mississippi just became the 37th state to legalize medical marijuana in the country, but there’s still a long way to go for the recreational market to open, which doesn’t seem all that likely under the current government. 

The newly instated medical cannabis program only treats those with severe conditions like AIDS, sickle cell anemia, cancer, and more. Now, those who prefer to use cannabis alongside treatments like chemotherapy and other severe therapies can improve their quality of life even further and get help from medical dispensary staff on which products would benefit their specific needs.

On Wednesday, Republican Gov. Tate Reeves passed the new law, and it took immediate effect. On Twitter, Reeves wrote that individuals in Mississippi could do “significantly better if they had access to medically prescribed doses of cannabis.”

While a Republican-backed law like this is rather refreshing to see, Reeves concluded the Tweet by mentioning that people still want a recreational program, but he’s afraid that would lead to “more people smoking and less people working, with all the societal and family ills that that brings.” Eyeroll.

Although the law went into effect immediately, there’s still a long wait until medical dispensaries start popping up around the state. In November 2020, a majority of Mississippi voters were in favor of medical marijuana that would give individuals up to 5 ounces a month, but the Supreme Court took that law down in May 2021 after noticing some errors on the ballot.

Now, consumers are only allowed to purchase about 3 ounces a month under the new law, which comes out to roughly 3.5 grams a day. The new program also calls for all cannabis to be grown in controlled indoor conditions, and it will also introduce the taxing of marijuana, both in production and retail.

It looks like Gov. Reeves’ main focus is how there will be “hundreds of millions of fewer joints on the streets” thanks to the new law that stripped two ounces a month away from medical consumers, notes NPR.

We still have yet to see how different cities and counties will react to the newly instated law, but they currently have a time slot of 90 days to choose if their local community wants to take part. As per NPR, we also shouldn’t expect to see any economic development incentives in cannabis, as that was also specifically prohibited in the new measure.