Can you imagine a place where over 300,000 voters overwhelmingly pass a law only to have 7 governing elites overturn it with a bogus lawsuit?
Welcome to Mississippi.
In a stunning turn of political events, the Supreme Court of Mississippi has overturned the will of the voters and thrown out medical cannabis legalization in a state known for its hospitality. I guess that only applies to non-cannabis patients in Mississippi. People with terminal cancer, kids with severe epilepsy, adults with MS, and countless others suffering from addiction to chronic pain will be left behind and forgotten once again. The legislature must act as a check and balance on an extremist court, and restore the will of the voters once and for all. They must exercise their constitutional authority and moral duty by acting now.
It’s a well-known medical fact that cannabis helps extend life for children with severe epilepsy. These kids and their families deal with daily life that no one can imagine as hundreds of seizures inflict untold suffering on these children. Many die young as the toll of the disease wears their poor bodies down. Access to affordable medical cannabis is often the only hope for these families; many have migrated to states like Colorado and California to gain access and help their kids. They deserve better from their leaders in Mississippi.
I hear these stories on a daily basis as do many of my colleagues in the field. That is why we do it in the first place. When a patient with tears in their eyes thanks you for helping them, well, there are few moments in life with more meaning than that. This is the inspiration I have for getting up every morning and fighting the fight for medical cannabis legalization everywhere on earth.
Similar to Mississippi, most of my adult life has been lived under the rule of conservative politicians. Presidents, governors, courts, and other governing institutions have been dominated by the GOP since I first voted in 1985. During that time, I was always told if I did not like the laws prohibiting medical cannabis to change them and so we did in California in 1996.
It took decades of work and sacrifice to build enough momentum for activists in the deep south to get medical cannabis on the ballot in Mississippi in 2020. Over 300,000 voters overwhelmingly approved medical cannabis legalization and now that work is being reversed by one mayor of one town and six Supreme Court justices. It’s time to raise hell in Mississippi until this undemocratic and cruel decision gets reversed by the legislature. The patients have endured enough suffering and death and it is time their well being is considered. Furthermore, the people have changed an unjust law by a democratic process and it’s high time their votes be respected.