Mississippi Gov. Threatens to Veto Medical Cannabis Reform Bill

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) said he will not support the Legislature’s medical cannabis reform bill because the proposed patient daily limits are too high, WCBI reports. The governor says he would like to see a patient’s daily allowance cut in half from 3.5 grams daily to 1.75 grams.

Mississippi voters passed the medical cannabis initiative in 2019 but it was struck down by the state Supreme Court earlier this year on a signature-gathering technicality. Prior to the Court invalidating the law, lawmakers began work on the backup bill which is now under veto threat by Reeves.

If Reeves does ultimately decide to veto, lawmakers may take action to protect the bill they have spent all summer negotiating.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if the legislature overrode the veto,” Sen. Brice Wiggins, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Division A and a congressional candidate, said in a Y’all Politics report.

Other provisions in the bill include a $5 per ounce excise tax at the point of manufacture and Mississippi’s 7% sales tax would apply to all medical cannabis purchases. Grow facilities would be limited to 100,000 square feet or larger, but the reported square footage must include all vertical shelves and growing areas. Licenses will cost producers $150,000 a year, and be issued through the Department of Health, not the department of Agriculture or Commerce, the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reported in October.