Mississippi voters will have not one but two medical marijuana initiatives on the ballot in November. The Senate passed a resolution last night that will place an alternative medical marijuana measure on the ballot. The resolution passed the Senate on a 34-17 vote. The resolution is an alternative to Initiative 65, which legalizes medical marijuana in Mississippi.
The text of the resolution is:
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION PROPOSING TO CREATE NEW ARTICLE 16, SECTION 290 OF THE MISSISSIPPI CONSTITUTION OF 1890, OFFERED BY THE MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO INITIATIVE MEASURE NO. 65, TO ESTABLISH A PROGRAM TO ALLOW THE MEDICAL USE OF MARIJUANA PRODUCTS BY QUALIFIED PERSONS WITH DEBILITATING MEDICAL CONDITIONS; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.Supporters of Initiative 65 say the bill is a watered-down version of the Initiative. They say the measure is designed solely to dilute support for medical marijuana so no medical marijuana initiative is approved in November.
WHEREAS, under Section 273 of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890, the people have the power to propose and enact constitutional amendments by initiative, and the procedure for doing so is set forth in Chapter 17, Title 23, Mississippi Code of 1972.
WHEREAS, following those provisions, the people have proposed Initiative Measure No. 65, which has a subject matter stated to be "medical marijuana for qualified persons with debilitating medical conditions," and this initiative measure will be presented to the qualified electors at the November 2020 election.
WHEREAS, when an initiative measure is proposed under this procedure, the Legislature may submit an alternative measure for the original initiative measure, which must be presented to the qualified electors at the same election at which the original measure is proposed, and under Section 23-17-29, Mississippi Code of 1972, such a constitutional initiative may be adopted or amended by a majority vote of each house of the Legislature.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That the following amendment to the Mississippi Constitution of 1890 is proposed to the qualified electors of the state at the November 2020 election, as an alternative to the amendment proposed by Initiative Measure No. 65:
Article 16, Section 290, Mississippi Constitution of 1890, is created to read as follows:
"Section 290. There is established a program in the State of Mississippi to allow the medical use of marijuana products by qualified persons. The program shall be structured to include, at a minimum, the following conditions and requirements:
(a) The program shall be based on sound medical principles;
(b) The program shall be administered by an appropriate state agency; (Theoretically, that could include DPS.)
(c) The administering state agency shall seek the input of health professionals to help design the program;
(d) The program shall be limited to qualified persons with debilitating medical conditions as certified by health practitioners who are licensed under state law;
(e) Marijuana products that are used by qualified persons in the program shall be of suitable pharmaceutical quality and prepared by state-licensed manufacturers;
(f) Treatment of qualified persons in the program shall be carried out by physicians, nurses and pharmacists who are licensed under state law; (Pharmacists? You really think Walgreens, CVS, Walmart, Kroger, and other chains are going to allow their pharmacies to sell med marijuana?)
(h) The program shall provide for limited categories of marijuana preparation of suitable and verified quality standards for oral administration;
(i) The smoking of marijuana products shall be restricted to the treatment of qualified persons who have terminal medical conditions as certified by health practitioners who are licensed under state law; (Suppose one is suffering from radiation or chemo? The condition is not yet terminal but the side effects are a living hell that can't be eased by other means. Too bad, must be dying, first. )
(j) The program shall provide for a limited number of state-licensed manufacturers of marijuana products; (Limited number? Here we go. Hello crony capitalism. So much for free market conservatives).
(g) The program shall have a patient registry for program enrollment, patient tracking, and treatment outcomes assessment; and
(k) The program shall provide for reporting requirements that include research, analysis, and outcomes assessment."
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the amendment proposed in this resolution as a legislative alternative to Initiative Measure No. 65 shall be submitted by the Secretary of State to the qualified electors at an election to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November 2020, in the manner prescribed by Section 273 of the Constitution and by Chapter 17, Title 23, Mississippi Code of 1972.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the ballot title for this amendment is proposed to read as follows: "Shall Mississippi establish a program to allow the medical use of marijuana products by qualified persons with debilitating medical conditions?"
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the explanation of this proposed amendment for the ballot shall read as follows: "This constitutional amendment is proposed as a legislative alternative measure to Initiative Measure No. 65 and would establish a program to allow the medical use of marijuana products by qualified persons with debilitating medical conditions."
Posted below is the text of Initiative 65.
17 comments:
Shows just how out of touch the gop has become with the American public. What a joke.
Solely to kill the initiative. Otherwise, we will have this done in 2021 by the legislature, right Delbert?
It does seem cowardly for a one-party legislature to ignore the subject until all of the significant burdens of the initiative process are met, only to spend so much time undermining the process via counterinitiative. Pass a bill that says the same thing. You clearly have the votes.
Thanks for your idiotic comment 12:40. The purpose of this resolution is to do something DIFFERENT.
Bomgar's initiative is flawed from top to bottom - unless of course one's intent is to make a lot of money off the deal. The resolution passed by the legislature deals with this in a more appropriate manner - does not put some ridiculous concepts into our State Constitution.
Granted, if you want recreational weed hiding under the claim of medicine, Bomgar's deal is the way to go. But if you are really interested in establishing a truly medical process, the alternative is the solution.
How do you know which on to vote for?
The one with the most government involved, of course-government would never act against your own liberty.
Bomgar did it to himself. There is no one else to blame. Half of the Democrats who voted in either the House or Senate only did so as part of the loyal opposition.
Who among us is stupid enough to think this actually represents a thoughtful alternative? The whole process is rigged to make sure nothing passes. You can be stoned and figure this out.
Bomgar is a self made millionaire who doesn't know that the only people allowed to become enriched by government are politicians and the special interests who pay the politicians.
Nothing is honestly done to benefit the people.
Different and flawed, as in, we the government might give the people too much freedom. Fairly typical of your run-of-the-mill Republican, who says they believe in freedom, limited government, and personal responsibility. That is, until someone wants to roll a joint. The horror...
As long as one party rules the Legislature, there will never be a people's initiative.
I suspect that the only folks in favor of Initiative 65 are:
1. Doctors, pharmacists, and suppliers of marijuana who will make money on legalized marijuana.
2. Drug users who see this as the camel's nose under the tent of legalizing all drugs.
3. Real libertarians who want no government restrictions on their behavior (AKA: "anarchists").
4. A few folks who really are suffering from medical problems (and their close friends and relatives).
Seems like what the Alabama Senate just passed would satisfy the need for medical relief without making the other groups happy. Their bill limits the prescribed marijuana to "tablets, capsules, tinctures, gelatinous cubes, gels, oils, creams, suppositories, patches, or liquid or oil for use with an inhaler."
The Alabama bill would not allow patients to use raw plant material or any product that could be smoked. It would also not allow any food products containing cannabis, like cookies or candies.
Well intended and thoughtfully written, or not...the end result will be that neither will have the votes to pass.
Another reality is that 80% who vote one way or another will actually think they're voting FOR or AGAINST weed.
6:57, perhaps people in favor of 65 believe humans' bodies are private property.
I guess if you're a communist that is anarchy.
It is the right, and obligation, of the Legislature to present an alternative when they deem it necessary to properly frame the issues and to inform the voters. This is the very same law, after all, that allows an initiative to be brought forward by citizens in the first place. Why are folks so arrogant to believe that the organizers of any initiative can fool/trick/persuade people into signing up (“it’s for the schools; don’t you want to help kids?) on any pretext, and thereby hide the true effect of their proposed (and dangerously flawed) proposed amendment? Thank God that the proposed Initiative 42A got enough voters to examine, reconsider and reject Initiative 42 in 2015. Same thing here. An alternative allows for the debate that organizers never wanted to even happen (“my way or the highway.”). The final decision still rests with the voters (hopefully informed ones) regardless. This is not a “dirty trick.” It is necessary to expose,recklessness.
I suspect the only folks against I-65 are:
1) Crooked Republicans
2) Doctors who profit more when marijuana is illegal.
3) LEO addicted to that prohibition money
3) Other various and sundry dumbasses
The people writing these rules know nothing about marijuana other than they don't like it.
Tell us @10:35 AM what exactly Joel Bomgar knows about marijuana?
7:55 - When was the last time an initiative wound up on the ballot without an alternative? Like Never? Best way to kill the process of initiative and referendum is clog it up with an alternative that nobody will read, much less understand.
Over half the voters will think it's all about weed and that's the intent of the legislature.
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