The Mississippi legislature is likely to pass a bill to create a medical marijuana program in the state, perhaps by the end of the week. When that happens, it will put the onus directly on Gov. Tate Reeves, the pseudo-moralist whose opposition to medical marijuana was softened, but not disappeared.
Reeves refused to call a special session this summer to take up a compromise marijuana bill thrown together by House and Senate negotiators after the Mississippi Supreme Court overturned the citizens initiative process that would have created a medical marijuana program. In that November 2020 vote, Mississippians approved the aborted amendment by a 3-1 margin.
Before the season started, Reeves said he would veto the planned bill because it allows people to acquire 3.5 grams of marijuana per month. That’s the amount allowed in most of the 39 states that have medical marijuana programs.
Reeves said the amount of marijuana per month should be reduced by half that amount, claiming that 3.5 grams of marijuana equals 11 joints a day, an amount Reeves said would transform the program from a medical program to ease pain to recreational use. The Governor is dead set against anything that would give people pleasure, of course — an “illegal smile” as songwriter John Prine once put it.
The Governor’s suspicion reflects the attitudes of many legislators who privately reject marijuana as a medical source of pain relief, but fear going against the will of the people, who have emphatically made their feelings known on the subject.
Rep. Dana McLean (R, Columbus) is a pretty good example of that skeptical cross-section of legislators. She opposes medical marijuana that can be smoked and has reservations about how many dispensaries can be located in town and how close they might be to schools. Meanwhile, she appears to have no such concerns about the number or locations of pharmacies that dispense far more dangerous drugs, including oxycontin, morphine, even fentanyl.
Reeves’ insistence that the amount of marijuana should be reduced does not appear to be gaining traction in legislature, despite his vow to veto the bill if it retains the 3.5 gram limit.
The Governor has painted himself into a corner, so the question will be whether the bill is passed by a veto-proof margin. If so, the Governor will likely either sign the bill or let it pass into law without his signature.
The squabble between Reeves and the Legislature has produced some comic relief.
Over the past week, both Reeves and Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann appeared on the Paul Gallo Show on the right-wing radio network SuperTalk Mississippi, to make their case.
Clearly, neither know anything at all about marijuana and their comments read like the script consultation on 1936 scare film “Reefer Madness.”
The point of debate was how much marijuana is in a reefer. Reeves, as noted, says 3.5 grams of weed is enough for 11 joints. Hosemann said he was told the number of joints rolled from 3.5 grams of weed is much lower than that.
The very idea of the Governor and Lt. Governor arguing about how much weed should be in a reefer is a bit of surreal comic gold.
In case you are wondering, it’s possible to get 11 joints out of 3.5 grams a week, although the joints would resemble a Q-Tip. On vacation in Jamaica, I saw dudes smoking joints the size of the Sunday New York Times. So there’s no consensus, really. Most pre-rolled joints sold at medical marijuana dispensaries contain .75 grams, which means you could get about five joints out of 3.5 grams of marijuana.
Despite the silly debate, when it’s all said and done, Mississippi is soon going to have a medical marijuana program.
Whether or not those who qualify for the program will have just enough weed to dull their pain or enough to derive some pleasure from it should be of no concern to anyone.
My dad spent the last three months of his life on morphine. It not only eased his pain, it brightened his remaining days.
What kind of person could seriously object to that?
I mean, besides Gov. Reeves.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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