Story at a glance
- Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) signed legislation on Tuesday legalizing medical marijuana for residents with serious conditions.
- Under the new law, patients who are prescribed medical marijuana by a licensed professional during an in-person visit may receive up to 3 oz per month.
- Medical professionals are only permitted to prescribe marijuana “within the scope of their practice.”
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) signed legislation on Wednesday to legalize medical marijuana for residents with serious conditions.
Reeves acknowledged in a statement posted on Twitter there are citizens in Mississippi who could benefit from medically prescribed cannabis while vowing to push back against a recreational marijuana program.
“There are also those who really want a recreational marijuana program that could lead to more people smoking and less people working, with all the societal and family ills that that brings,” Reeves said.
Under the new law, patients who are prescribed medical marijuana by a licensed professional during an in-person visit may receive up to 3 oz. per month, a reduction from the measure initially approved by voters. Reeves said the reduced amount will mean “fewer joints on the streets.”
Prescriptions written for children under the age of 15 will require parental consent, and Reeves noted that medical professionals are only permitted to prescribe marijuana “within the scope of their practice.”
The law additionally prohibits the industry from earning state incentives and blocks the establishment of dispensaries within 1,000 feet of a church or school.
A majority of the state’s voters in 2020 favored a ballot measure that would establish a medical marijuana program, which was later invalidated by the state’s supreme court.
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“Marijuana access is long overdue for Mississippi’s patients,” Jax James, State Policies Manager for marijuana advocacy group NORML, said in a press release. “The overwhelming majority of voters decided in favor of this policy change over a year ago, and for the past 14 months the will of the people has been denied.”
The final version of the measure makes Mississippi the 37th state to legalize medical marijuana.
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