Legislators near final vote on medical cannabis legislation

Jan. 25—JACKSON — State lawmakers are on the cusp of sending medical marijuana legislation to Republican Gov. Tate Reeves for approval, but they are working out details on local zoning restrictions.

Rep. Lee Yancey and Sen. Kevin Blackwell, the two Republican architects of the cannabis legislation, told reporters on Tuesday that the House and the Senate have reached a deal on medical marijuana, and a conference committee will be established to work on the final details.

"This has been a long journey, and it's nice to be in a place where everyone is in agreement," Yancey said. "It looks like we're finally going to be able to provide relief to those people with debilitating illnesses who are suffering so badly."

A conference committee involves three senators and three representatives meeting to hash out details on a piece of legislation. Once the conferees reach a deal, a conference report, or a final bill, will be produced for all legislators to approve.

The main change the conference committee is expected to make centers around zoning regulations. The House last week voted to allow cannabis growing and processing facilities to operate in commercially zoned areas, in addition to agricultural and industrial zoned areas.

Shari Veazey, executive director of the Mississippi Municipal League, told the Daily Journal that the House's zoning change drew concerns from some mayors and city boards.

Now, the conference committee is expected to change the legislation to allow cannabis growing and processing facilities to operate in commercial zones, but only if counties and municipalities approve of it beforehand.

"We feel like these proposed changes address our concerns," Veazey said.

Yancey and Blackwell said that both the House and Senate are prepared to vote on a conference report on Wednesday.

A wide margin of Mississippi voters in November 2020 approved an initiative to allow medical marijuana, and a program was supposed to be created by the middle of 2021. The initiative approved by the voters allowed patients to receive up to 5 ounces per month.

Six months after the election, the state Supreme Court invalidated the initiative by ruling that it shouldn't have been included on the ballot because Mississippi's initiative process itself is invalid as currently written. The ruling also left Mississippi without a way for people to petition to put issues in front of voters.

Since the medical marijuana law was invalidated by the Court, lawmakers have felt constant pressure to pass their own version of the legislation. Both the House and the Senate this year have overwhelming approved legislation to establish a medical cannabis program.

"I think, for all of the people who are touched in some way by a loved one or someone that they know who benefits from medical cannabis, this brings their quality of life back in ways that we haven't really seen before," said Ken Newburger, the director of the Mississippi Medical Marijuana Association.

If the House and the Senate vote on the compromise as expected on Wednesday, the bill would head to Reeves for approval.

The first-term governor has threatened to veto the legislation if the amount of cannabis a patient can receive per month is not reduced. But it's unclear if the agreement brokered between lawmakers is enough to satisfy his requests.

Both Yancey and Blackwell told reporters that they have not personally communicated with the governor about the legislation, but believe that the compromise has moved in the direction that Reeves has asked for.

Once Reeves receives the bill, he has five days to either veto the bill or sign it into law. If Reeves does neither, it will become law without his signature. If the governor vetoes the bill, it would head back to the Legislature, who can vote to override the veto if two-thirds of the lawmakers in both chambers agree to do so.

"I think we're veto proof in both chambers," Blackwell said.

taylor.vance@djournal.com