The Itawamba County Board of Supervisors voted against holding a public hearing concerning opting out of the distribution, sale, and processing of medical marijuana during their Monday, April 4 board meeting.
Board attorney, Bo Russell presented a summary of the recently enacted Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act.
District 3 Supervisor Terry Moore made the motion to hold the public hearing with a second from District 2 Supervisor Ike Johnson. District 1 Supervisor Donnie Wood, District 4 Supervisor Eric “Tiny” Hughes, and District 5 Supervisor Bill Sheffield voted against their motion, therefore the process of opting out of the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act failed.
State lawmakers passed the medical marijuana legislation in January with the statute going into effect on February 5. Municipalities and counties were given 90 days from the effective date of the passage of the bill to opt-out.
The law allows patients to buy up to 3.5 grams of cannabis per day, up to six days a week. More than 20 debilitating conditions including cancer, Parkinson’s disease, Alzhemiemer’s, and austism are eligible for medical marijuana under the program.
Mississippi was the 37th state to legalize medical marijuana.
