Pleas for medical marijuana legislation kick-off Mississippi legislative session
Jan. 4—JACKSON — The mother of a man with a chronic illness implored legislators on the first day of their regular session to enact a medical marijuana program quickly to give patients access to medicine.
Angie Calhoun, CEO of Mississippi Cannabis Patients Alliance, said Tuesday that her 25-year-old son, Austin Calhoun, has experienced medical issues for years. She said he was forced to move to Colorado to access marijuana for treatment.
The main person standing in the way of the state having a medical cannabis program is Republican Gov. Tate Reeves.
Reeves initially agreed to call lawmakers back into a special session to enact a medicinal program if a deal could be reached in both legislative chambers. But after a deal was reached, the governor took issue with the legislation.
Reeves has threatened to veto marijuana legislation if the amount of cannabis a patient can receive at one time is not reduced. He has called the proposed bill a recreational marijuana program.
"Today, I ask Gov. Tate Reeves to open his heart and mind to feeling and seeing the pain, suffering, agony and frustration of the caregivers and patients of Mississippi," Calhoun said. "And to empathize with us and give the patients of our state medical freedom."
The Senate is expected to take up a medical marijuana bill soon, but an exact timeline of when the legislation will be filed is not known.
Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, the leader of the Senate, told members of the press on Tuesday he had met with Sen. Kevin Blackwell, R-Southaven, the lead Senate negotiator on medical marijuana, but did not share specific details on when a committee is expected to take up the legislation.
"I haven't seen the final bill," Hosemann said. "I'll get with Sen. Blackwell when he comes in here shortly to find out what his time frame is."
Hosemann said he believes concerns and changes to any proposed bill should be done through the normal committee process in a public setting.
Though voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2019 to create a medical marijuana program, the Mississippi Supreme Court tossed the initiative out on a technicality.
If the full Senate passes a medical marijuana bill, it would head to the House for consideration.
But Republican House Speaker Philip Gunn of Clinton told members of the media on Tuesday that while he supports creating a medical marijuana program, it is not one of his primary concerns this session.
"Candidly, that's not the top issue for us," Gunn said. "The top issue for us is income tax. We are going to be pushing our income tax agenda."
If both chambers pass the legislation without conceding to Reeves' wishes, it could face a gubernatorial veto. Two-thirds of the legislators in both chambers would need to override a veto.
