Sometime soon, perhaps as early as next week, the Mississippi legislature will pass legislation that will create a medical marijuana program.

Wednesday, the Mississippi House voted 105-14 in favor of Senate Bill 2095, making only two amendments to the Senate’s version of the bill, which passed by a 45-5 margin on Jan. 13.

The House amendments reduce the amount of medical marijuana from 3.5 ounces to 3 ounces per 30 days, perhaps a nod to Gov. Tate Reeves, who said he would veto any legislation that allowed the higher amount. Given the veto-proof support for medical marijuana in both chambers, the lowered amount gives the governor a chance to save face.

The other amendment removes the Mississippi Department of Agriculture from any role in the medical marijuana program. Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson had been an outspoken opponent of medical marijuana, so the amendment relieves Gipson from any responsibility for the program.

The bill now moves back to the Senate, which will either approve the amended version or send it to conference committee for further negotiations.

The Golden Triangle delegation, with the exception of Dana McLean (R, Columbus) and Lynn Wright (R, Columbus), voted in favor of the bill in the House or Senate.

Even with the large margins in both chambers, there was an undertone of suspicion concerning medical marijuana. Many legislators are concerned that medical marijuana will make it easier for people to have legal access to marijuana for recreational use.

That fear is reflected in the bill.

People ages 18-to-25, which legislators believe are most likely to use marijuana recreationally, will need authorization from two qualified medical experts. All other ages require a single authorization.

Counties and municipalities may also prohibit dispensaries.

The bill also levies a 7 percent sales tax on medical marijuana, which will make it the only prescription medicine subject to that tax.

None of these conditions are placed on any other prescribed medicine.

All of these measures underscore that the majority of legislators do not regard medical marijuana with the same legitimacy as other drugs, many of them far more potent and proven to be addictive, something that has never been proven with marijuana.

The paranoia exhibited in these provisions shows that legislators are badly out of touch with reality. The fact is, those who want to use medical marijuana for recreational use don’t have to jump through the hoops this legislation creates. Marijuana is easily accessible throughout the state and likely less expensive as well. There are now 38 states with medical marijuana programs and research does not support the idea that medical marijuana increases recreational marijuana use among teenagers.

Left to their own devices, it is doubtful the legislature would have ever passed medical marijuana legislation were it not for the wake-up call it received from voters, who passed a constitutional amendment to allow medical marijuana by an almost 3-to-1 margin in November 2020. The Mississippi Supreme Court threw out that amendment on a technicality.

Many, perhaps most, legislators still oppose medical marijuana. But when voters favor medical marijuana by a 3-to-1 margin, they see the writing on the wall.

I was going to say that legislators aren’t dumb, but then, during the House floor debate, Rep. Carolyn Crawford (R, Harrison County) asked why doctors should be allowed to prescribe an illegal drug “while doctors were being prohibited from prescribing legal drugs such as hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin.”

Note: Doctors can prescribe both. They don’t prescribe ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID for the same reason they don’t prescribe bleach or urine.

Crawford’s question drew whistles and muffled laughs around the chamber.

Legislators may be dumb.

They’re just not that dumb.

Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].