Friend,

I’m happy to let you know that the Mississippi Legislature has just voted to legalize medical marijuana! This win comes after the similar voter-passed Initiative 65 was overturned last year by the Supreme Court via a technicality and not the merits of the initiative. The bill is now headed to Governor Reeves who has five days to sign it into law.

Thank you for helping finally make this victory a reality! It's long overdue justice for patients and voters as well as a vital step toward reform in the South which has suffered under some of the most severe drug war policies in the country.

Patients will be able to get the relief they deserve and will be treated with care instead of punishment. Medical marijuana will be available to people with medical conditions such as cancer, epilepsy, and ALS, under the care of physicians and from safe, legal, and regulated centers.

The fight to get here hasn’t been easy. In November 2020, Mississippi voters overwhelmingly passed Initiative 65 [link removed] to legalize medical marijuana. But in May 2021, drug war zealots who wanted to maintain the status quo were able to get it overturned by the Mississippi Supreme Court [link removed] based on a technicality unrelated to the actual initiative.

This shameful setback showed that the drug war is alive and well. Our opposition did everything it could to block progress by undermining democracy while forcing patients to suffer needlessly. 

But we fought back and won. Advocates turned up the pressure on the legislature to listen to voters and pass a medical marijuana bill. Today all that effort paid off and we hope to be celebrating Governor Reeves’ signature in the coming days.

People like you made today possible along with incredible advocates like Mississippians for Compassionate Care [link removed] who have been leading this effort. DPA is proud to have played a role. Drug Policy Action, our advocacy and political arm, worked on the Initiative 65 campaign for several years and we’ve continued to support our local allies at every step of the way to make sure the legislature follows through with the will of voters.  

Winning in Mississippi is a huge milestone for patients, the public, and people in the South as we fight to replace punitive drug war policies with reforms centered in health and justice.

Sincerely,

Ellen Flenniken
Managing Director, Development & Political Strategy

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