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Medicinal or Recreational marijuana? That is the question.
Posted on Governor Tate Reeves FaceBook page.
I’ve repeatedly told the members of the Legislature that I am willing to sign a bill that is truly medical marijuana. One that has reasonable restrictions to ensure that it doesn’t have an adverse effect on Mississippi’s economy. One that has reasonable restrictions to ensure that it doesn’t disrupt Mississippi families. A program that helps those Mississippians who truly need it for an illness.
In many ways, the work done on the original draft of the Legislature’s bill helped address some of these issues. There is one remaining point in question that is VERY important: how much marijuana any one individual can get in any given day.
Unlike any other drug, this program allows virtually unlimited access to marijuana once you qualify. There is no pharmacist involved and no doctor setting the amount. There is only what legislators call a “budtender” serving you pot.
We don’t have “pilltenders” for other medicine. This is unique.
The bill allows any individual to get 3.5 grams of marijuana per day. A simple google search shows that the average joint has 0.32 grams of marijuana. Therefore any one individual can get enough weed to smoke 11 joints a day. Every day.
In Oklahoma (which has a similar system of dispensing to what is proposed) 376,000 Oklahomans have signed up for a marijuana card. That is roughly 10% of the population of the entire state. An equivalent sign-up rate in Mississippi would yield 300,000 Mississippians with a card to get up to 11 joints per day. That would allow the disbursement of 3.3 million joints per day in our state, which is the equivalent of approximately 100 million joints per month.
That would be 1.2 billion legal joints sold in Mississippi per year. Call me crazy, but I just think that’s too broad of a starting point.
I am asking the Legislature to simply cut that amount in half to start the program. It is a simple fix.
If it is determined in the future that more pot is needed in Mississippi, that could always be increased in future legislative sessions. Why not start carefully? I believe that is a reasonable approach.
If you disagree, I respect your opinion. We can sit down five years from now and take a thorough review of the actual outcomes. But—as the dad of three daughters that I love dearly—I cannot put my name on a bill that puts that much marijuana on the streets of Mississippi.
I hope that legislative leaders will see fit to consider reducing the tremendous amount of weed they seek to make legally accessible so that I can sign their bill and we can put this issue to rest.
God bless you, Mississippi!!
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Sweet Tater is still under the misguided impression that he can legislate morality! He is concerned about how much marijuana is on the streets of Mississippi? I have news for him it’s already there!! The only difference is that buying it on the street you don’t know what you are getting both in quality and purity. So please stop trying to make it about your concern for your little girls because the only way to keep them safe is to keep them locked in their room until they are25!!!
The people of the state of Mississippi voted for medical marijuana. After the peoples vote it now becomes none of your business sweet tatar .
I Don’t think they should illegally approve recreational Marijuana.they say it’s not a drug. I strongly believe it impairs ppl. I tried the medical,Marijuana. I told my doctor I can’t believe that it was legal, and it should have never been. I don’t know if it was that I never did Marijuana. It made me feel soooo bad. My Dr. Said other patients have said the same thing.
I’m sorry that Nicole had a bad experience with medical marijuana. It’s like any other drug in that it’s not meant for everyone. Perhaps you didn’t get the proper product or any number of variables but to say it has no benefits is wrong.