By Both the Mississippi Medical Association (MSMA) and the American Medical Association (AMA) have challenged the November-approved medical marijuana voting initiative by the majority of Mississippi voters.
Medical marijuana and AMA proceedings in Mississippi
While cannabis enthusiasts were trying to pop a bottle of champagne to celebrate their victory in Mississippi, two Mississippi Medical Associations submitted Amikas briefs, blocking efforts to deploy Mississippi Medical Marijuana, which severely stopped the festival. rice field. The proceedings also describe how ballot initiatives were considered “unconstitutional” by state law enacted in 1992. The State Constitution states that “less than one-fifth of the voter’s signature required to ask a constitutional amendment question is required. The voting form comes from a single parliamentary district.”
Now, in 2000, after the results of the census, the Mississippi State Parliament’s seats and districts dropped from five to four, making it literally impossible to approve one-fifth requirements.
In addition, AMA and MSMA explained why this is damaging to the state: “There may be beneficial medicinal uses of marijuana, but many evidence-based studies show that there are many serious and detrimental effects. Shows. ” They go on to say that “public health risks” include changes in brain function, psychological illness, and even cancer. Some may be indignant, but others, such as NORML’s Carly Wolf, are angry at expressing rational arguments in favor of legalization.
Curly Wolf, NORML’s State Policy Coordinator, said: Opponents of legalization have repeatedly shown that neither public opinion courts nor ballot boxes can succeed. Whether or not they support the legalization of marijuana, Americans need to resent these apparently undemocratic tactics. Many Mississippians who voted for the legalization of medical cannabis in November may be experiencing similar feelings.
Medical marijuana proceedings and legalization in Mississippi
It may be interesting to think that AMA and MSMA have put a lot of effort into early attempts to get voters to oppose voting initiatives by promoting state-wide promotional campaigns. AMA and MSMA have sent sample ballots instructing voters on the steps necessary to deny marijuana legalization and encouraging collective opposition to Initiative 65. Despite their efforts, 74% of Mississippi voters have approved the initiative.
Paul Armentano, Deputy Director of NORML, said: “AMA’s position is terribly inconsistent with both public and scientific consensus, and the opinion of the majority of doctors. It’s a shame that the organization is trying to invalidate the majority vote of Mississippi voters. This lawsuit makes it difficult for doctors to approve the certification of people in need of medical marijuana, putting them at risk of criminal and civil liability, as well as making them vulnerable to professional discipline. increase.
Medical marijuana challenged in other states
Mississippi isn’t the only state that has been backed by courts trying to overturn voter-approved cannabis reform. In Nebraska, the initiative violates a single ballot in Nebraska, even though the Supreme Court collected the amount of signatures allotted to qualify for voting last September. He ruled that he was not allowed to appear on state ballots. Subject rule. However, there is little hope as activists are currently working on creating legalization measures for adults that will satisfy the legal interpretation of the court.
In Montana, when anti-marijuana activists tried to persuade the Supreme Court to invalidate the bill prior to voting, they were finally rejected when the court denied their request, and the vote was as planned. Continued to. This further resented opponents of legalization, urging them to “file proceedings in lower courts,” and the statutory proposal “unlawfully allocates funds and prohibits such allocations from being included in civil initiatives. It violates part of the Constitution. ” Over time, we will see if their continued efforts are fruitful.
Finally, in South Dakota, Governor Kristi Noem upheld plaintiffs, stating that “the recreational marijuana bill violates state law requiring the proposals displayed on ballots to address a single subject.” As a result, the constitutionality of the initiative faced legal issues. Again, development in this regard hasn’t made much progress, but it will become apparent over time. In the meantime, in order to continue our ongoing efforts to educate the community about cannabis, we ask fellow marijuana enthusiasts to comment on these issues and regularly work with elected officials. Encourage them to stay in touch.
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