6-3 is a double-edged score in Mississippi. It once meant Mississippi State: 6 Alabama 3 but today it means Queen Mary: 6 Medical Mary Jane: 3. The Mississippi Supreme Court struck down Initiative 65 on a 6-3 vote. The initiative legalized medical marijuana. 61% of the voters approved I-65 in a referendum last November. The Court held:
¶11. The Court does not have jurisdiction to review, affirm, or overturn the “will of the people” as evidenced by the results on November 3, 2020. The November 2020 results are not before us. The only matter subject to the Court’s review today is the decision of the Secretary of State finding that the Initiative 65 petition was sufficient to be placed on the ballot....
¶14. The Court settled the issue of Butler’s standing as in individual decades ago. Pursuant to Power v. Robertson, 130 Miss. 188, 93 So. 769, 773 (1922), “any qualified elector has a right to uestion the sufficiency and validity of the petition.” The Secretary of State accepts that Butler has standing in her individual capacity....
¶18. The Secretary of State has failed to identify in the record any factual support for his laches argument. Regardless, from the facts provided by Butler, which the Secretary of State universally accepts, Butler acted within a reasonable time to file suit. Based on what the Court has been provided, the ballot was only finalized at some time in September when the State Board of Election Commissioners met. Within sixty days of that decision, Butler filed
suit....the Legislature never made any serious attempt to amend section 273 to conform to the new reality....
¶48. Pursuant to the duty imposed on us by article 15, section 273(9), of the Mississippi Constitution, we hold that the petition submitted to the Secretary of State seeking to place Initiative 65 on the ballot for the November 3, 2020, general election was insufficient. Because Initiative 65 was placed on the ballot without meeting the section 273(3) prerequisites for doing so, it was placed on the ballot in violation of the Mississippi Constitution. Whether with intent, by oversight, or for some other reason, the drafters of section 273(3) wrote a ballot-initiative process that cannot work in a world where Mississippi has fewer than five representatives in Congress. To work in today’s reality, it will need amending—something that lies beyond the power of the Supreme Court.
¶49. We grant the petition, reverse the Secretary of State’s certification of Initiative 65, and hold that any subsequent proceedings on it are void.
An amendment to fix the problematic language in Section 2732(3) died on the Senate calendar this year after passing out of committee. Medical marijuana bills failed in the 2021 legislative session.
182 comments:
Now that they know for certain it will pass, they will never allow cannabis on the ballot again until at least 10 years after all 49 other states have legal cannabis, and it has been removed from the classification schedule by the federal government.
What a crock of BS - stupidity trumps logic every time in this godforsaken backwater of a state.
The Court ruled based on the law, not on the politics ---- as they should.
Glad to know that we still have a constitutional court. not a revisionist court.
Who cares? Weed is so easy to get.
Queen Mary says not so fast pot shops in her town! All hail the Queen!
oops-
Wow I guess some people saw this coming I didn't. Never ever underestimate Mary
1:50 is correct.
@1:53 PM
It’s even easier (and safer) to get in Anchorage, Denver, and Honolulu.
ACLU lawsuit to invalidate voter ID in 3...2...1...
Not political? What a joke. These justices are clearly beholden to their special interest groups that fund their campaigns. I will never vote for Coleman again. I've never voted for a Democrat before but I'll vote for anyone who runs against him. This is an affront to the people who spoke.
I did. Told you guys this would happen. If you take your feelings out of it, you can see how she won.
Now all these guys spending money on their MM shops have to go back to square 1. Similar to when the hospital was built in NE Jackson without a CON.
Blame the legislature for this one. It wrote the language as it did, it didn't fix the language when it could have done so. It didn't pass a reasonable MM bill. The alternative amendment was just a way for them to line their pockets. Period.
Thanks to the incompetence of Jim Hood, Joel Bomgar is out quite a bit of money and he didn't deserve that crap.
The justices and legislature should be ashamed. I don't care about the feelings of Jim Hood or Joel Bomgar, but there are sick people in this state who deserved better. Mary should be ashamed. Hope she never has to face the choice of breaking the law to ease the pain and suffering of a loved one.
Can non-residents of Madison protest outside of city hall? A colleague of mine would love to find & pay some impoverished apartment dwellers to “canvass” outside.
I guess the 61% need to vote all of these bums out!
DRAIN THE SWAMP!!!
Thank God. And Mayor Mary. Now we don't have to worry about declines in property values, and our highways littered with used needles, junkies, and other human trash. Marijuana always has been and always will be, the gateway drug.
Life in the Land of Honey and Gold will go on, as usual. Mayor Mary is the best mayor in the United States of America. Period.
61%? Bullshit! If you recall, the ballots were very deceptive on this item.
1:50, 1:57 are correct. I also agree with KF at 2:00, although I don't understand the last sentence.
It sucks that the will of the people was voted down, but as in any legal proceeding, the process is set out for a reason.....and like it or not, the process wasn't followed. As for 1:59's assumption that the voter ID law will be challenged, if they haven't already filed their challenge as of this writing, I will be surprised. Unfortunately, just as for the medical marijuana initiative, they'll have a valid point.
For reasons unknown to me, the legislature never found it in themselves to correct the initiative language they KNEW was incorrect when the number of or congressional delegation changed. This is the result.
May 14, 2021 at 1:50 PM
+1,000,000
ACLU lawsuit to invalidate voter ID in 3...2...1...
Only a fool would believe that VoterID is in jeopardy. The Legislature will save it with a snap of the fingers.
@2:15
You can name any random town in Hawaii or Colorado and they will be better than Madison, Mississippi.
"61%? Bullshit! If you recall, the ballots were very deceptive on this item."
I agree. The ballot was deceptive. The more I thought about it the evening after I voted, it was kind of like:
Do you want pizza for dinner? Yes/No
We don't really care if you answered yes or no above, but if the majority want pizza for dinner, would you rather have pepperoni-mushroom or Canadian bacon-anchovies? Please choose one.
That's absolute bullshit.
Someone please try and explain to me how the court ruled on the law. The law doesn’t state the current congressional districts, it just stats the 5 congressional districts. Therefore, you use the districts at the time of amendment and use those districts.
Dennis Coleman never misses a chance to preen.
Don’t see where Jim Hood came into all this ... blame the legislature for their incompetence to change the law... either way it’s sad to see the public’s choice taken away. Once they make the change, the initiative will definitely be refiled
The MM program as defined by the language within I65 is dead. Period. There will be a replacement but it will be as restrictive as other currently controlled substances. There won't be any strip mall 'guaranteed-or-you-don't-pay' MM card mills.
@2:31 PM, get off your ass and do your own reading of the opinion and briefs.
Justice Maxwell's dissent is absolutely ridiculous and places in question his basic intellect. His entire basis for voting against Madison's petition is that Mississippi has four congressional districts due to a federal court's injunction -- totally ignoring the entire reapportionment process of Congress.
The LINES of Mississippi's current four congressional districts were drawn by a federal court but the fact that we now have four congressional districts was not an action by the court but the result of the census. Even most basic 11th graders understand that the number of representatives is not decided by a federal court panel as Justice Maxwell argues and uses as the basis for his no vote.
I have always thought highly of him prior to now - and not because I disagree with his vote on this matter but because of the absolute stupidity of his argument.
Bomgar spent about 4m on this initiative and the thousands of hours his organization put into this. Damnnn, that gotta smart.
All initiatives passed in this fashion are now invalid.
All elections are suspect and invalid.
This will bring about lots of unintended consequences.
And say goodbye to your current rep….he/she will soon be replaced by a new person who will seek to address the will of the people of Mississippi….the winds of change are a howlin
And what about other initiatives garnered in the same way??
@2:53
Yeah but someone has to have the will to challenge all previous initiatives passed in this fashion.
All you dope heads can move to Colorado. And Bomgar and his minions just wasted a ton of money.
[They] made her feel so sad
Oh, whoa, whoa, Jamie's cryin'
By the time this is on the ballot again, Mississippi will be down to three congressional districts, which is inevitable by 2030 or 2040 with the continued decline in population.
May 14, 2021 at 2:53 PM = Clueless comment
The people retain the constitutional right to act by initiative. But the legislature can enact a statute governing the initiative that is impossible to comply with and retain the right to keep people enslaved . Got it!
Let me gather my crayons and return to my cave of ignorance now that I am constitutionally enlightened. When the revolt happens at least we can all play the fiddle
So doesn’t this mean every initiative passed since the last census is now null and void? At most will it would take one simple lawsuit per initiative.
@2:15(a), that escalated quickly. Go home boomer, you're drunk.
And drug dealers rejoiced!
All I know is that the Supreme Court Justices are elected . . . and we the people vote!
@2:28 I will name one. Denver, Colorado. The pot is everywhere. On the streets, you smell it in restaurants and stores. The stench of pot is everywhere. Yes I have been to Denver recently. People smoke it walking down the sidewalks. It was everywhere I went in Denver. I know a lady who moved from Colorado because she couldn't sit on her back deck at her house without smelling pot. Having said that, I was also in Vail and saw very little of it.
@2:31 your clear analysis is pure bullshit. Riddle me this -
what if we still in Mississippi had five congresspeople today (therefore, we would have five congressional districts, but I digress.)
Would a petition process need to get the signatures from the boundaries of the five districts as they exist today, or the boundaries as they existed in 1992?
That question was asked during the oral arguments and addressed in the briefs. and it is 'assumed' (which is what you do in your enlightened analysis) that the current lines would be used.
Make it even tougher - what if, as did happen, we dropped to four congresspeople (therefore, four congressional districts) in 2002, but after the 2020 census we had increased population and moved back to five? Would we have used the 'old' districts for any initiative during the two decades intervening, but moved to the current districts for the 2020 and beyond initiatives?
So, why should one assume that the old lines are what we are to use today? If that had been the intent, inserting a short defining seven or eight words in the text back in 1992 would have defined that, just as it does for many other apportionments (IHL Board, Court of Appeals, Barber Board, for example). But the words "as they existed in 1992" don't appear. Therefore, the Court in doing what Courts are supposed to do, ruled that they cannot write the legislation for the legislature. Nor can the Secretary of State or the Attorney General.
Thanks for offering your clear opinion - now please answer the hypothesis above, which is what the Court did in today's official opinion.
No more Voter Identification? Say it ain't so.
I knew from the beginning that this would be the outcome when I read the lawsuit at the Supreme Court web site. The legislature knew this would happen as well. The Supreme Court showed it’s hard when it refused to hear the case before the election. Guess they thought that if the public voted it down it wouldn’t have to work up a sweat. I mean what could go wrong with a bunch of old white guys right?
I’m really disappointed in the Legislature (that’s the nicest phrase I could think of). They knew they hadn’t fixed the initiative process for twenty years. And it was on purpose. Can’t have the people voting in laws they don’t agree with. I also think the morons that decided not to wait until proposition 65 had passed before trying to ram some pretty crazy initiatives through. I do believe that may have pushed the court to today’s decision.
Hey we should all be glad right? The court only took six months to fuck over a million Mississippians. Yeah.
You bunch of rubes, VOTER ID is in statute now. Yes, it may have passed by ballot initiative, but the legislature, the ones the you goobers like to talk about, passed a law for voter ID.
Plus the time for appeal is over!!!!
have fun idiots, and BTW scoot over and make room for Idiot Supreme Bomgar.
This is Karma for him investing in some shit that he was legislating on. It bit him square in his orange ass.
So this effectively means that there is no legal way to get an initiative on a ballot anymore, correct? We're just going to throw away the citizens ability to organize.
We just can't get out of our own way. 61%.
I'm assuming this means that any ballot initiative that has been presented since the districting changed can be struck down easily now? Anyone know what initiatives have passed in the last decade?
Hahaha. All the loser potheads are mad.
Hahahaha.
Mississippi is gonna Mississippi until the end of Mississippi. It's no wonder that anybody with a brain leaves this shit-hole. Our politicians are the absolute worst.
Thank God. Bong-Gar, self serving tech lucky guy and antivaxxer, set this crap up to deceive. Anyone say "gateway?" Here's a CO Pothead company planning to cash in on the fiasco:
"Mississippi is exactly the kind of new and emerging cannabis market GrowGen is looking to enter," said Darren Lampert, GrowGeneration's CEO. With UNLIMITED licenses to grow, allowance of OUT of STATE residents to apply for medical cards, and acceptance of out-of-state medical cards, Mississippi is positioned to serve the needs of its residents and those of its surrounding states, creating a 'GATEWAY' to the South for medical cannabis."
Bad bill. Crooked politics. I gotta give credit to Mary for this.
We need weed like we need another hole in our head. We rank dead last in health, and this stuff being abused legally is another nail in our coffin. Thanks to a Liberal Rich White Guy. Who wants to earn even more. Sick of rich kids spewing crap and our Legislature lapping it all up.
Very few illnesses have shown ANY efficacy and those who suffer in them can get relief legally already.
And as someone said, the local potheads have no trouble with the real use-being stoned.
"Someone please try and explain to me how the court ruled on the law. The law doesn’t state the current congressional districts, it just stats the 5 congressional districts. Therefore, you use the districts at the time of amendment and use those districts". This is very easy to explain, you see, each coin has a Heads and a Tails. Usually called in midair and read after striking the mid field line. Very rarely is it split landing on it's side. Help any???
Whether you support the pot law or not, it is a fact that the basic values that the Queen fervently supports has made Madison a beautiful and booming city. If one notices the real estate boom in the Florida Panhandle, LA (Lower Alabama), the Gulfcoast, and Madison it is evident that folks appreciate those values and will move there. A serious boom ahead in such places.
2:15 is absolutely correct.
The fix was in. Not surprising in the backwoods state. Time for the young and literate to continue the exodus and leave this hell hole to the politicians.
Thank you Mayor Mary Hawkins Butler for your lawsuit and and the Mississippi Supreme Court majority for striking down Initiative 65. Medical marijuana legalization is a fraud solely intended to bring about the full legalization of marijuana and all other so called recreational drugs. Those parties who are funding the efforts to legalize drugs have one goal only which is to get rich off the poor souls who use and become addicted to these substances. At least for the time being, Mississippi won't be jumping on the bandwagon to legalize drugs which is a positive development for the state. The legalization of these drugs will be the destruction of our country. History proves this such as in China in the 19th century. There has been little, if any, evidence of medical benefits of marijuana.
What a crock of Republican bull shit. Democracy is dead and there are no laws.
2:53, and to all the rest of your ilk, you clearly don't understand the law and the process. The simple little legal concept of latches will protect the TWO other initiatives that have passed (Voter ID and Eminent Domain). While the weak argument of latches did not apply here because the lawsuit was filed timely, that's not the case with the two initiatives passed over a decade ago.
Besides, if Voter ID were struck down.the current legislature (not controlled by Speaker Billy McCoy and his Democratic majority) would pass the statute anyway. And maybe fix some of the weaknesses left in the process by then SOS Hosemann while they were at it. But much water has flowed under that bridge, as well as the bridge built on land not taken by eminent domain, so that a petition filed today against them would not pass muster to get into the courtroom, much less out with a similar ruling.
Granted, it was a great PR line of the Empowerment cabal all the while this was pending with the Supremes but it wasn't true then and its not true today.
Thanks for playing, though --- better luck next time.
All the dopeheads are crying tonight. Bong Hit Harry and the Chronic Crew are weeping. They have to buy their "medicine" (wink wink nudge nudge say no more, squire!) from the murder junkies in Lumumbatown.
Cry me a river, potheads.
Bomgar can move his A$$ to Colorado also.
Poor Bongar lost a few millions. Ha! He’s still living
high of the hog and will be ok...out west.
@ 3:02
Gladly! There's actually stuff to do out there. Property values are through the roof and dispensaries are everywhere so that cow Mayor Mary is just a dumbass
Congrats to the alt right on killing democracy. I give up on this shithole.
stay calm and toke on. it’s not hard to buy it! or grow a plant or two...sheesh!
Many thanks to our heroic Mayor, for protecting me, my children, and all other esteemed residents of Madison.
-
Mississippi Representative Jill Ford (R-District 73) said on Facebook, “I appreciate and respect the Court’s decision. This was a high profile, complicated case, and I applaud the Court for their diligence and hard work. And Madison County, you should be very proud of your Mayor, Mary Hawkins Butler, she has once again been successful in protecting the people she has served for over 40 years. Now, I commit to you to write a bill in January that will give those in need medical marijuana while protecting our property values and the lives of our children.”
https://www.wjtv.com/news/mississippi-lawmakers-react-to-supreme-courts-decision-to-overturn-initiative-65/
Good. This is a joke. There is NO such thing as “medical marijuana”. It’s all just marijuana. Paint however you want to make your my feel righteous, but this was just Bomgar pushing poison. Hippie. Glad it got struck down.
Now everyone calm down and let’s go get a drink!
So those who think the ruling was great, enjoy. Those of you dislike the ruling get your ass off the couch and call your senators and congressmen. Demand they push for a special session to push legislation through before the end of the year. The governor would be the one to call the session so call him too.
Nothing will happen if nothing is done. Bill 2765 may have been controversial but if it had passed, at least medical marijuana would be starting up right now instead of waiting another year. Or you can listen to Delbert the Hose Man. His message is, if each and everyone of us kisses our legislators on their brown spot then maybe they will bring it up next year..... maybe!!!
Hello. Conservative Protestant lawyer here. I am ashamed at all this. If you’ve never had a loved one with a debilitating medical condition who is begging for relief, you are lucky. I don’t support recreational use. But gosh. The drug dealers have a fine payroll and some folks just need pain relief from many many illnesses like cancer. Taking morphine is way worse. Please show some consideration for your fellow man and don’t be such angry folks. I pray you are never in a condition to need such help. What a mess by our politicians.
Justice Maxwell's dissent was spot-on, and grounded in good legal conservatism. The majority relies on external federal processes, like the injunction prohibiting elections from 5 districts, to interpret what Mississippi law should be. Justice Coleman ignores the fact that Mississippi law is co-extensive with federal law in this regard and is unaffected until the Constitution is amended. Lawyers deal with law on a regular basis that seems out-dated but has never been explicitly overruled.
The court simply applied the constitution. No more, no less.
MM is not going away, however, maybe the legislature will make it happen under a more controlled dynamic. But, it is going to happen, one way, or the other.
He may be drunk, homeboy, but you're stupid for supporting legalized pot. Tomorrow he may be sober, but you will still be stupid for supporting legalized pot. A tip of the hat to Winston Churchill.
@ 2:28
You live in a free society. Move to Hawaii or Colorado, a pair of slop holes where no sane person would choose to live.
Cannabis has been around for thousands of years . . . why has it been illegal in the civilized world pretty much every time anybody gets around to thinking about it?
Simple. It makes one STUPID, it's that simple. Now you may be a fine, middle class, Euro-American Christian with a firm grip on reality, and a real high IQ. Not everyone is as fortunate as you.
I am 76 years old and I started my experiment with pot 60, count them, years ago. I figured out the stupid part and quit messing with the stuff. Oh, not until I'd screwed up my life pretty good but not terminally. Funny, the guys I smoked with, did not so well in life. "Dead or in jail," is the phrase that comes to mind. I hate the stuff. It's not the "gentle benevolent herb" Allen Ginsberg talked about. It's the IQ lowering filth of Cheech and Chong and the third world. Wasting one's life is not funny. It's pitiful.
If you want to live that way, it's between you and the Lord. Leave me out.
Do us both a favor and move to Colorado.
We the people keep getting robbed of our elections. Second time in recent memory
We gonna be burning and a looting.
Big group out or AR that has a license there hired Thompson lobby firm to push for legislation to limit the number of licenses. In return for oligopoly they would pay lots more taxes. But the bill failed. They took their case back channel to the SCOMS. Look for a legislative session where they place massive fees on applications and licenses and then limit licenses so that only the most politically connected get one. The industry comes to MS but not in a free market format. Very controlled at the top with lots of campaign contributions to go around for the Gov and the legislative leadership.
4:57- I’m going to have to disagree. Everyone knows this whole medical marijuana thing is a joke. Everyone who wants to get high in places like CA and CO have a card for their “illness”. This is an excuse painted in righteousness. Any religious angle you want to take is fine with me, but smoking weed sure isn’t Christian. It’s blight on society and needs removed.
70% of child abusers have a substance abuse problem. This will just add to that.
Now go watch your Grateful Dead VHS tapes.
This is on the legislature period. The court interpreted the law as written. It is not their job to make substantive law. It is their job to interpret and apply it. Reach out to your representative if you have a problem but don't blame this shit on the court or on the city of Madison. Lazy representation by your representatives led to this debacle. Plain and simple. A properly constructed amendment/bill will pass overwhelmingly in the future.
Bye Voter ID.
this state could foul up a cup of coffee.
somehow i dont think the legislature will come back in a special session to fix their screw up.
How f*ckin' miserable is your existence to be o.k. with the sh*t that continuously happens in this state!?
Let me add, I get tyranny of the majority and that minorities must have some leverage in the political process.
But goodness gracious - for once in the history of this god-awful state a diverse group of people came together and overwhelmingly agreed on something - we are talking across socio-economic groups - racial lines, political lines, religion, sexuality, education levels, and that freakin' troll in Madison and the do-nothing #msleg - just f*cked the people over yet again.
Where the f*ck do you draw the line and say, enough is enough!? SMH
I just legally purchased a product that will get you just as high as mid-tier BC bud and no, I won’t tell you where because you pussies will go after it
If there's anybody to blame it's the legislature for not doing their dumb jobs and fixing a known issue.
So by refusing to allow a vote to fix a broken law, the legislature decreed that only they, and not the voters, can pass a law. Classy.
5:38: Maybe next you can fix teen pregnancy. Keep solving society’s problems while watching Fox News.
Can anyone tell me which group in the Legislature is larger - the crooks or the dumbasses? I guess we have a lot of crooks who are also dumbasses. I will sleep better tonight knowing there is no way the citizens of Mississippi can implement any changes to our constitution. Their willingness to never bring a simple modification to the laws of Mississippi to correct obvious errors in our constitution assures voters don't matter one shit to those who govern us.
GET OFF YOR ASSR\ES AND DO YOUR JOB LEDGELATURE OFFICE HOLDERS AND FIX THIS DAMN PROBLEM!!!!!!!!!!!
Just got a notice on multiple devices that this is an “unsafe” website from Google. BS!!! I’ve been visiting for literally years! Kingfish, are you aware that they want to shut you down? That’s crazy!!!
Queen Mary is a serious power to reckon with.
She saw the problem then hired the smartest attorneys in Mississippi who prevailed for her. The Court is just doing their job. The failure is the incompetent legislature. Place blame in the appropriate place.
@5:38, HARD right-winger here. My politics and religion would make you cringe at how fascist they are. I believe that, as a right wing supporter (and defender, fuck around and find out) of the Constitution, the government reserves ZERO right to regulate what plant, that grows out of the ground, like GOD put here, I may smoke.
Side note to Fish: the WLBT article on the dog, and what “your brother or cousin or whatever) said about not leaving him, that works man. Makes me want to go door to door looking for him.
7:43. Nah. You talk a lot (cringe....Hahahha) but here is the problem.
If people would take responsibility for their own lives they could ingest whatever they want. Drugs, alcohol, whatever. Unfortunately people like you are all talk when it comes to freedom. Most will grovel for rehab after their first DUI or cry about how alcoholism is a “disease”. If that wasn’t the case the they would have to have Narcan available on every corner.
Want your freedom? Good. Then take the consequences of your bad decisions as well.
Mississippi has two great examples of this. Just look at the kids being born out of wedlock and obesity. What do these populations want? Free government money for their bastard kids and free Medicaid to tres their poor diets.
Smoke your weed dude. Just don’t go crying for free healthcare when you get cancer or emphysema. Good luck with that.
Hey 5:38, you moron, CO and CA residents don’t need a card. It’s legal there for recreational use. Get your head out of your ads.
Even most basic 11th graders understand that the number of representatives is not decided by a federal court panel as Justice Maxwell argues and uses as the basis for his no vote.
I have always thought highly of him prior to now - and not because I disagree with his vote on this matter but because of the absolute stupidity of his argument.
Maybe he was high.
5:23 is a Mississippian calling Colorado and Hawaii “slop holes”. Shows you what we are dealing with.
Smoke 'em if ya got 'em!
Or not.
Pleased with this decision. The LAST thing Mississippi needs is more of something that makes people lazier, stupider, and more gluttonous. Thanks Mary (the one whose last name is NOT Jane).
Among the many lessons from 2020, is that the outcome of any election, can now be ARRANGED, if the wrong people have the power and the motivation to make that happen.
There's no way in Hell, that the state which voted in the highest numbers of any state in the union, AGAINST Gay Marriage, voted to legalize Marijuana.
Mississippi’s Supreme Court has been on the wrong side of justice since this stare was founded. No surprises here.
To the idiot comparing Madison to the Florida panhandle, you know you’re still in Mississippi right? I want what you are smoking. Legal or not.
The brain drain will not only continue, it will accelerate. I don’t blame the young folks.
5:38. Me again. Hope your family never experiences a medical disaster. It can bankrupt and ruin a whole family.
Same judges who allowed David Archie to fraudulently keep his supervisor seat while using an address with a house with an oak tree growing through the roof. No surprise here.
Did anybody watch the hearing? Were any of the judges under 90 years old? I don’t think they heard a word of any of it.
Queen Mary is the goat. Now we won’t have to deal with those sketchy “medical marijuana “ dispensaries that clearly advertise to people who are not sick. Medical marijuana was a scam to begin with. Good on the Court for interpreting the constitution as it is written.
8:15, yeah they did. In big numbers.
It's totally legal in 18 states and legal for medical purposes in 36. Why anybody thought we would break into the top 37 in any category is an exercise in folly. Lets just continue to be stupid, fat and ignorant (categories well represented in these posts)
Blame the legislators they never liked I&R. They toughened it in the 90s after term limits made the ballot. They knew about this problem for years and killed every bill. A bill to fix this made it out of committee and Chris Johnson didn't bring it up for a vote in the Senate.
Angela Hill's bill died in comm. Another bill friendly to one group in a neighboring state passed Senate but trey threw a tantrum over the tax cut bill.
The initiative happened because the leg forfeited every chance to pass something. The Supremes merely followed th constitution but it's the legislators who created all this.
Their alternative amendment was corruption codified.
4:29, hasta la vista, baby!
Willie Nelson is 88 years old and still smokin' top shelf shit, but it's going to ruin his life.
Six people voted and threw out the votes of thousands of voters and the will of the people. This happened in a conservative republican state with a very conservative supreme court. Remember that when Carlson Tucker, Fox news, and your republican senator tells you the liberals want government to control your life.
Delighted to see that judges rule on the constitution and not emotions and personal opinions.
Mississippi can't afford to lose any more brain cells.
The flag was a legislature introduced referendum, right?
I think that this ruling makes it even more important to find legislators that will start rolling back the scope of government and start dismantling all the state agencies and government overreach in our state before we completely transform the law making process into a mob-rule type of thing.
Just saying.
Can we stop with the praise of Mary Mayor as some legal scholar.
9:44 Best comment on the subject!
9:44 Best comment on the subject!
Nope.
All I care about is the citizens of this state who truly need the med cannabis. The legislature is playing games. The Supreme Court is unfortunately technically correct. All my friends agree that this decision was expected, yet wrong. I feel helpless. Political agnosticism is our new default as no common sense prevails. And people wonder why no one, left or right, trusts their government.
All you yucksters see is 'the will of the people was voted down', with a dose of 'Where's my flag at?'
The introductory statement by the court is brief and understandable. The will of the people was not at issue. Nor was Medical Marijuana. Nothing was before the court but whether or not the law (constitutional section) was followed, and it was NOT.
Hoseman (and others before him in the SOS office) did not perform. Nor did the legislature. Of course God told Jill Ford (over a glass of wine) to protect her grandchildren and oppose Medical Marijuana and Mary didn't want pot shops in the village to which she gave birth, but neither of those realities was before the court.
The court's decision is correct (and I fully support Medical Marijuana).
Paul Mitchell - Your post makes no sense. The 'flag issue' was not binding and, as such, was legislative fiat...a mockery of process without meaning. But, it did piss off a lot of people when the legislature later ignored the referendum and Tater went back on his word to 'let the people vote'.
Not sure what any of this has to do with dismantling state agencies. Just Sayin'.
Speaking of the 6-3 decision, I wonder if Kingfish will publish the dissenting opinion of any of the 3. What could possibly have been their thought process? It would appear, without me knowing, that they thought the vote of the people in this matter should over-ride the constitution. This wasn't about the vote of the people.
That aside, it may very well have been the intent of Hoseman and the legislature to keep this flawed conundrum in the law so NO initiative and referendum outcome would be valid. The I&R process is a way of giving the finger to the legislature and you don't do that to people who assume themselves to be all-powerful.
Great intro Fish.
At 8:23:
Obviously, u are right as anything can happen but
do u not have good health insurance?
I have a $5MM policy. If my medical bills go
above $5MM they can just plant.
@8:05, ??? What the actual fuck reasoning did you just try to use? Alcohol is legal and available on any corner. Pot is illegal (and available on any corner.) I can get a DUI right now for either should I drive while ingesting them. Again, why can the government sanction the consumption of the one that kills hundreds of thousands a year but ban the one that doesn’t rot your liver and raise you blood pressure?
When did I call for free healthcare? I told you, before I even started my statement, that hard right is to my left
Speaking of the 6-3 decision, I wonder if Kingfish will publish the dissenting opinion of any of the 3.
He did. Get off your butt and read the damn opinion.
KF - what’s the record for number of posts on a topic? Has this made the top 5?
Absolutely love that JJ lets people debate marijuana, medicinal or otherwise; comment on Mayor Mary (btw, she ruined the nice rural town of Madison that she now wants to save); comment on the various elected officials, R or D or otherwise (who only have in common that most are idiots who keep the state last); and pontificate on other such topics.
Some of you may not like KF, but this is the best damn forum in Mississippi!! (And no I’m not KF. Please.)
7:36 sounds like an angry person. I thought potheads were more mellow.
This is larger than marijuana. The people (all people) have the right to enact laws by initiative. This allows us to bypass the legislature and directly vote the will of the people when our representatives fail us.
This opinion allows the legislature to effectively change or refuse to change the requirements to get an initiative on the ballot. Days before the vote the legislature can change the requirements for an initiative to effectively keep it off the ballot.
Wake up, this opinion effectively stripped us of our power to overpower the legislature by initiative. Judicial activism wins again.
Mayor Mary gets more done in Madison County then the dam president for the country. Take note that’s why we live good.
So what happens next? When is the earliest possible time and how will MM be on ballot or passed by legislature? Anybody?
I just love that all the scumbags who invested money in pot shops here thinking they were gonna get rich off selling pot to our kids are now up the creek without a paddle. Serves em right!
Judicial activism? Get real, that isn't what has happened here.
@8:35
Now that the legislature knows it will pass, they will never allow it to be on any ballot ever again. The current SOS is a “speaking in to gues” religious zealot and in line to be governor. It won’t happen under his watch.
8:35
Special session coming up!
@4:19, don’t be so smug. It’s laches, a Latin term, not latches. I’m laughing.
Boycott Madison and all businesses located there. Mayor Mary wants to dictate what the rest of the State does outside her Queendom, hitting her tax rolls in the pocket book would teach her a lesson.
May 14 @2:41, I suggest you either read, or re-read, Justice Maxwell's dissent, as you clearly misunderstand it. It starts at paragraph 51, on page 28.
As I understand it, the basis of his dissent is that Mississippi law applies, and the current Miss. law setting forth five districts is still good law for purposes other than federal elections, i.e., ballot initiatives.
The court has the authority to interpret the state constitution, but it does not have the power to amend or rewrite it. If the constitutional provision at issue was flawed because it was poorly drafted, it is not the court’s job to “fix it.” That belongs to the legislature and the voters through the amendment process. The court should not aggregate to itself the amending of the text of the constitution because the court thinks it should have been drafted to say something other than what it says. I would much rather have a court that recognizes such limits than to have a court that essentially undertakes to reword, rewrite, or amend a constitution whenever the justices don’t like a provision, or think it is politically expedient to do so. We have seen far too much of that at the U.S. Supreme Court. It may not be popular with the pro-65 group, but it is fundamentally and philosophically the right approach. It really shouldn’t be seen as a pro or anti medical marijuana issue, but an issue of the court’s proper role in applying the constitution as written,
@9:19 sure thing. The group that just voted themselves a $30k raise with a stroke of a pen who slapped the legislature in Reeves v Gunn just got their travel budget reinstated by the legislature. That’s what really happened here.
Tortured reading of the people reserve the right to act by initiative then another 28 pages of garbage explaining why the people don’t have the right to act by initiative. Not all of us are lawyers or politicians. We were smart enough to avoid the bs but we can still read
Swat teams of military style young men who couldn’t get in the military are celebrating this decision. They are coming for you Ms Cancer patient. Get ready to buy new doors.
Mayor Mary didn’t figure this out. Gunn and Tate have had this in their pocket for years and years. Mary was just the mule they used to pursue the case when they really needed it.
Celebrate all you anti 65’ers. This is your day. Tomorrow you still wake up in a backward poor dumb state. Been celebrating it for several hundrit years, why stop now?
Did those who are happy about this decision quickly go to the nearest package store for their liquor and wine to celebrate beating down reefer madness?
Not a big deal. You got cancer? Taking chemo? Move to Louisiana. Or Florida. Or Tennessee. Pretty much where ever. But if you stay here, you gotta take them opioids from big pharma. State officials said so.
@10:10. I’m sorry you are so sad thst a bad law was overturned. Please, however, put the blame on the right parties:
The legislature for refusing to amend the I&R law when we were dropped down to 4 districts;
The NORML lobbyists thst wrote a bad law, thst the people voted for,
After all, why should medicine be assessed a sales tax?
You see, in their zeal to get MMJ passed, they wrote a bad law. For this, it was fought in the courts and overturned.
Could someone please show me where there is a "right" to initiative and referendum?
We are a free people and we possess the ability to govern ourselves as we see fit.
So the “right” exists naturally and it will display itself and magnify in time as free people feel oppressed.
I love all the people here who want “rule of law”, but really have no understanding of how laws work. Regardless of what side of this issue you are on, the rule of law prevailed here. If you want mob rule, that’s a different conversation. People are lamenting that this was “passed” with 61% of the voters. A simple majority does not make a law. If that were the case, Mississippi schools would have never been integrated.
I’m not a fan of medical marijuana. If it were really needed and was a true pharma, then the FDA would regulate it. But it’s not. But, that’s a story for a different day.
10:10- Yes! PLEASE boycott Madison. I’ve been boycotting Jackson for about 6 years and I have not been hassled by bums, had my vehicle broken into or had to miss reservations at a restaurant because of no water!
Yes. Please stay outta Madison. Great idea.
12:17, yes, the Legislature is completely incompetent. That is nothing new. It's been that way for a very long time, which is a huge contributing factor for this State being at the bottom of nearly every good list and at the top of nearly every bad list for time immemorial. The problem is that their effort at doing the worst possible job is collective, so it's difficult to single out every one of the bad Legislators, save for my own on election day.
As for Mayor Mary, are you really claiming she did not play a front-and-center role in a law, which would arguably allow for sick and suffering people to get more effective treatment, being struck down? If so, that might be the most disingenuous thing I've heard all week (and, being a lawyer, that says a lot). Remind me who was the plaintiff? Because you sound like you forgot.
And yes, I fault her for it. She didn't file the lawsuit because she cares so deeply for whether procedural hurdles were met. She filed the lawsuit because she is a power hungry Karen who wants to tell sick people in Tupelo, Meridian, Hattiesburg, and elsewhere not in her jurisdiction how to treat their illnesses. This cannot stand. I, for one, will not spend a penny in Madison for it.
And no, this law does not affect me, and I'm not "sad" about it. I just don't like assholes getting away with being assholes. That includes your mayor and the people who voted for her.
There was no grand conspiracy between her and Gunn et al.
If those clowns in the Capitol had realized this flaw would have helped, they would've used it to beat down I42.
Kingfish, the language in the initiative referendum rules state that the people have the right to amend the constitution by imitative. How is that not a right?
The people reserve the right to amend the constitution. It’s in black and white. But the supremes ignored that plain language and instead focused on the weeds several layers down.
If the pro weed suckers weren't high they would probably storm the state Capitol. Of course, they wouldn't know the legislature isn't in session.
Has most prolific legal mind in the history of Mississippi law commented in the media about this yet?
Lord Steffey, His Highest Honor, for anyone who is wondering who that is.
@1:26. I would admit you have valid points if it weren’t for the fact thst there are companies offering money back guarantees for a mmj card. If you have the stones to admit the 420 crowd saw this as a means to an end (including legalizing possession of non mmj), I might say you are right.
But this was a badly written law by the NORML lobby.. because they were paid not to put reasonable restrictions (like where dispensaries could be placed), I whole heartedly oppose it. Sick so much you need pain killers? Find something else thst isn’t taxed.
12:17
On a lighter note, KF, does this set a record for number of comments?
All who say that the state will be overrun by trash and wastoids clearly have not seen how marijuana legalization has actually played out in other states. The marijuana shops are part of the landscape and have not caused those states to burn down in sin and destruction. People can go about their lives in freedom and many do their thing without engaging in it. They are still living well. These states allow responsible people to choose what they want to do with their bodies and engage in an activity that is relatively benign when compared to alcohol.
We waste countless sums on prohibition that began with the stigma placed upon this plant due to it's association with counterculture when good ole Nixon sought to demonize those who use it and throw them in jail against basic civil rights. All research on it was halted. It was cast out as the devil when it contains so many potential benefits. The demonization of marijuana users is about deeply rooted misconceptions and prejudices.
It is so interesting how conservatives rail all day about how the government should be out of our lives and then allow the gross intrusion into liberty that comes from current prohibition.
While sticking to the old ways here are great in so many ways, our tendency to do so at all costs keeps this state down and out time and time again. Think about how long it took to change the flag even though so many would not consider doing business in this state because of it. The world will pass us by once again as we lose out on the opportunities that will come from responsibly regulating this plant and harnessing its medical benefits. The science is there and many have gotten relief from it outside this environment of backward thinking. Thank God that the 70% or thereabouts that voted for this see it. This issue is a no-brainer. Quit stigmatizing this plant and taking out your anger on this issue and stay true to your conservative values by agreeing to let others make their own choice about this plant. It is time to regulate it federally so that there can be uniform standards for all instead of so much conflict between policy in each state.
I personally love this state and know we can have the best policy around in both medical and recreational marijuana. If we get ahead of regulation, we can assure the tax money goes to great things. It is essential to regulate for that reason. Some day we all will live with it in the open and it will be no big deal. All the fussing and fuming will be seen for the true ignorance that it is.
@1:50 Then how have 2 other initiatives passed while we were in the limbo zone?
"There's no way in Hell, that the state which voted in the highest numbers of any state in the union, AGAINST Gay Marriage, voted to legalize Marijuana.May 14, 2021 at 8:15 PM"
Hold on Cletus. When did gay marriage appear on a ballot in Mississippi?
Once again, conservative is NOT libertarian.
I REPEAT- CONSERVATIVE IS NOT LIBERTARIAN.
It never ceases to amaze me how many people think these are synonyms.
Libertarians have way more in common with liberals than conservatives.
So the whole "I thought conservatives wanted government out of people's lives" thing really just doesn't land.
I am a conservative and I 100% want the government to keep trashy/tacky pot shops out, just like I want the government to keep prostitution and heroin illegal too.
What is so hard about this to understand? People are so simple minded that they can't see the distinction between the government telling law abiding citizens they can't own guns versus they can't smoke pot. Guns actually serve a purpose. Pot does not.
"Medical Marijuana" is the biggest scam of all time and everybody knows it.
What a shit state. So glad I moved. Population decline right? Enjoy that you dumbass mississippians.
a clusterfuck like this could only take place in a 3nd world shithole like mississippi
Isn’t it interesting that all the comments refer to “MM.” Are they referring to Medical Marijuana or Mayor Mary?
You clowns couldn’t boycott Madison and Rankin if you tried. That’s right go shop in Jackson haha. This is a great state and for all of you that moved, good riddance
@8:33
Don't lump Rankin County in with your delusions. We wanted Medical Cannabis. We don't have a liquor lobby in Rankin.
May 14, 2021 at 8:05 PM
IF we ever get medicare for all I'm lobbying for a Fat tax like Japan has.
You make a valid point @7:53. Please email the governor and your legislators and senators your post. Perhaps it may sink in. And for those of you who have decided that Mississippi doesn’t need medical marijuana may change your mind one day. After the booze has destroyed your liver.
Hey 9:38, I am 7:53. I respect that you are conservative. Believe it or not, I am too. Your argument seems to be that marijuana is equal to prostitution and heroin and has no medical purpose. Your distinction is not based on science or a real evaluation of what pot is and is not. It has the potential for harm and does cause it at times, but it also has the potential for good. I understand you may not see this because society has told us for decades (until recently) that it is the devil and we should not even study it even though so many use it. People were prohibited from even learning about it by the government who long since hated it mainly because it was common among the counterculture.
How about that...we knew as a society that it is used widely but we really didn't care to know anything about it. Ironically, politicians including Biden, say we just don't know enough about it as a reason to keep it illegal. Now people are studying it and it is great medicine in so many ways. CBD has come from marijuana and that is a blessing to many. Check out the research on all of it. If you were suffering, you would care to.
Finally, the crux of your argument winds down to guns. I too own guns and an AR-15 because I like to shoot it, do it with my son, and appreciate its power. Above all, I like to shoot it because I have a right to do so in a free society and I want that always. I don't choose to smoke pot now, but I don't want to live in a world where the bigotted, brainwashed government will throw someone in jail because of it. An AR-15 has just as little "purpose" as marijuana when you really look at it. You focus on guns because that is what is familiar for you and the argument you are conditioned to make.
I think you should talk to someone who has smoked marijuana and see what they are really like. You may have interacted with many who have and not know it because you are conditioned to think that they should be falling all over and spacey to the maximum. You may assume you have interacted with no one who has smoked because you can't recognize it in them due to being conditioned to think they act like zombies only.
They will usually be nice, happy, willing to converse, capable of perceiving good things and being civil. They usually won't be violent or abusive. Compare that to a drunk. On the other hand, there are those who have another reaction to it perhaps making them uncomfortable with it but they will usually choose not to use it. It is never for kids nor for the irresponsible. We have a free society and there are risks in giving people freedom according to our most conservative values. The same goes for my AR-15. There are huge risks with that, even more so than to those who choose to use marijuana.
10:17 and 7:43: Why are you even here? Are you just desperate to feel superior to someone?
Perhaps taking some positive action to improve your own life could help fill that need.
11:32. Wow. I don’t know where to start. Do you always make up facts out of nothing?
By the way to want to bash you “facts” into peoples heads, I bet you are a joy to be around. Your fam must live vacation time with you at the Jellystone Campground.
Too many people who tout the purported medical "benefits" of marijuana seem to have blinders on. It's not as if plenty of other medications, therapies, lifestyle changes, foods, supplements, etc., don't exist to treat numerous medical conditions that the proponents of med. marijuana preach about. Are those that swear by the benefits of med. marijuana too lazy, or unmotivated, to try other things to treat whatever health issue they claim to have???
My opinion: most of the med. marijuana advocates use the "medical" label as a guise for simply being able to get legal access to it, to get high.
Hey 157, I am 1153 and 753. First, I respect your point so much because you have made it professionally and without any sign of caveman grunt. You are probably right. There are many who want medical marijuana because they see it as being a broader connection to larger rights.
As far as medical marijuana goes, I have someone very close to me who is very large in stature. He’s had multiple knee replacements and several back surgeries. He wants to function in his job and be a productive member of society. He’s not somebody who has ever gravitated towards marijuana. As you know, most local doctors are under pressure not to prescribe opiates for very good reasons. There’s just no answer for people with severe pain because they cannot be on opiates forever. Those medicines are narcotics coming from the opium poppy that are extremely addictive and painful to all of society. This person cannot continue to take opiates at all.
Marijuana now can be consumed in small droplets or liquids. There are many ways for people who are patients to consume it without smoking it. It is a blessing to them because they have physical relief, but also can relate to their pain in such a way that does not destroy them psychologically and physically in every way. These are significant subtleties about the use of marijuana in medicine, but they are very real positive results. Someday we will look back on this and understand everything that came from the cannabis plant while wondering why we hated it so much. I defer to my other points made above and won’t restate them. I will close by pointing out that this person I care about so much would never function in Mississippi and would be thrown out of all pain management regimens.
Thank you again for showing us all that we don’t need to throw mud or grunt at each other to make our points. Rationality will figure a way out of this important issue. I won’t post more on this subject because I’ve said all I think I have to say on it.
According to 1:57, now terminal cancer patients are now lazy and ignorant. Guess what? MANY oncologists say the weed helps cope with chemo better than the super addictive, super expensive big pharma stuff. My wife’s doctor told her where to go in Florida when she was going thru it.
"Mayor Mary gets more done in Madison County then the dam president for the country. Take note that’s why we live good."
Prefab homes, franchise restaurants, no designer clothing stores, you barely got a movie theater, with no notable residents?
Only entertainment is a movie theater and mud driving, wow - so impressive. LOL!!!
You jokers out there really have a false sense of superiority.
"All who say that the state will be overrun by trash and wastoids..."
What do you mean "will be"?
I suspect 9:38 would benefit from medical marijuana most of all.
@ 4:24 - Where are these Madison Mud Races?
@ May 17, 2021 at 12:45 AM
@ 4:24 - Where are these Madison Mud Races?
I don't go out there with them, but you see a sh*t load of nasty trucks covered in mud and jacked up.
May 16, 2021 at 4:24 PM
That's funny all the big box businesses on County line have migrated north. The last one was Academy Sports, but that's because the guns kept walking out the door and turning left. Heard that from one of the guys that worked at the gun counter. Actually he told me a year and before they moved. There's no Best Buy, no Sam's Club. About the only thing over there worth going to is TJ Max, Marshall's and Tuesday Morning.
Lots of ignorant people on here talking about things they have absolutely no knowledge of or experience with...
On 5/14 at 2:15 p.m., you said: Thank God. And Mayor Mary. Now we don't have to worry about declines in property values, and our highways littered with used needles, junkies, and other human trash. Marijuana always has been and always will be, the gateway drug. Life in the Land of Honey and Gold will go on, as usual. Mayor Mary is the best mayor in the United States of America. Period.
Response: Is that you Mary? Or Trey Baxter speaking for you? Needles and junkies? You can't be serious. So you would rather keep cannabis illegal, causing many more issues, including overcrowded jails, costing the taxpayers millions. Thanks for setting MS back 10 years, as usual. I wish you had educated yourself on the industry instead of living in the 1950s, thinking kids will smoke the devil's lettuce and jump off their parents' roofs. I hope you get sued by the hundreds of people and investors who have already poured millions into the cannabis industry in MS after the people overwhelmingly spoke in favor of it on the ballot, even if the lawsuits are lost. Your precious Madison is a damn joke.
@ 12:12:
It wasn't just our grand Mayor who warned us about the dangers of marijuana, but the High Sheriff of the entire county himself had this to say, last year:
Tucker said there is no “medical marijuana” in his eyes. He said marijuana is considered a Schedule 1 narcotic in the state because it is frequently abused.
“I’ve been doing this for 30 years and protecting this very community for that number of years, and I have yet to see anybody put one piece of evidence scientifically or medically in my face that says it is a medically approved drug,” he said.
Link: https://apnews.com/article/mississippi-marijuana-medical-marijuana-8e9aa14fe77690a89c4cd32db2bafd0f
My prediction is these politicians will be toast next time they are up for re-election:
Mike Randolph
Dawn Beam
David Ishee
Kenneth Griffis
Josiah Coleman - he was just re-elected that is why he wrote opinion - 8 years down the road they thought the voters would forget the decision , but I don’t believe so when the decision goes against the will of the voters
My prediction is these politicians will be toast next time they are up for re-election:
Mike Randolph
Dawn Beam
David Ishee
Kenneth Griffis
Josiah Coleman - he was just re-elected that is why he wrote opinion - 8 years down the road they thought the voters would forget the decision , but I don’t believe so when the decision goes against the will of the voters
Leslie King
Forgot to mention Leslie King in my earlier 6:08pm post as being toast politically. Wouldn’t want to leave anyone out!
This was not about marijuana, this was about control and power. The Mississippi ruling elite, for one do not want anything to happen to the power and network structure. Second, they did not want 65 as regular people would have made money, and cut them out. They could 2 craps, about marijuana. This threatened them in many ways, as one it would bring young families into the state, which would mean more people. There goal is to keep Mississippi down as much as possible so they can profit from it as much as possible. And they do not need people looking into what they do or what they pass.
If all of sudden there were young rich people, then those people would have a voice. They start to look at the corruption. So they used this to completely tear down the whole voter initiative process. And ensure Mississippi is down and stays down. Now they have complete and total control to pillage the state as they have been and will continue to do. There is nothing that can be done.
They could easily solve this if they wanted. But they will not. In fact really all they need to do is make a one sentence law that says All laws regarding cannabis are repealed. That's it. Just one sentence. It is literally a plant that grows out of the ground. And just like when anything else is sold they can collect the sales tax.
It is really simple as that. We are agricultural state yet we cannot grow a plant. This is peak clown world. And this is why Mississippi is number 50 because it is planned and that is the way they want it. This is just a piece of land owned and controlled by the rich ruling class and we are nothing more than serfs. The only solution is to vote them all out no matter party or platform. Anyone who was in any position from city councils to the Governor during 65, they must all go they are all enemies of Mississippi. Vote them all out.
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