JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – The Mississippi Supreme Court on Friday overturned a medical marijuana initiative that voters approved last fall.
Six justices ruled that the medical marijuana initiative is void because the state’s initiative process is outdated. Three justices dissented.
Court documents stated, “Whether with intent, by oversight, or for some other reason, the drafters of
section 273(3) wrote a ballot-initiative process that cannot work in a world where Mississippi has fewer than five representatives in Congress. To work in today’s reality, it will need amending—something that lies beyond the power of the Supreme Court.”
The justices heard arguments in April 2021 for a lawsuit that challenged the state initiative process and seeks to block development of a medical marijuana program.
The lawsuit was filed by Madison Mayor Mary Hawkins Butler.
It argued the state’s initiative process is outdated and Initiative 65 should not have been on the ballot.
Voters in November 2020 overwhelmingly approved Initiative 65, which requires the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) to establish a medical marijuana program by the middle of this year.
To get Initiative 65 on the statewide ballot, organizers gathered signatures from the five…
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JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – The Mississippi Supreme Court on Friday overturned a medical marijuana initiative that voters approved last fall.
Six justices ruled that the medical marijuana initiative is void because the state’s initiative process is outdated. Three justices dissented.
Court documents stated, “Whether with intent, by oversight, or for some other reason, the drafters of
section 273(3) wrote a ballot-initiative process that cannot work in a world where Mississippi has fewer than five representatives in Congress. To work in today’s reality, it will need amending—something that lies beyond the power of the Supreme Court.”
The justices heard arguments in April 2021 for a lawsuit that challenged the state initiative process and seeks to block development of a medical marijuana program.
The lawsuit was filed by Madison Mayor Mary Hawkins Butler.
It argued the state’s initiative process is outdated and Initiative 65 should not have been on the ballot.
Voters in November 2020 overwhelmingly approved Initiative 65, which requires the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) to establish a medical marijuana program by the middle of this year.
To get Initiative 65 on the statewide ballot, organizers gathered signatures from the five…
