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Changes to the medical marijuana law are headed to Gov. Reeves’ desk. Here’s what they are.

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Changes to the medical marijuana law are headed to Gov. Reeves’ desk. Here’s what they are.

The Legislature has approved changes to Mississippi’s cannabis law that will limit the information available to the public about businesses’ citation records and will attempt to crackdown on inconsistencies from the agencies tasked with running the new medical marijuana program.

The bill, first filed in the House, was amended by a Senate committee and the full Senate before the House passed it last week. Gov. Tate Reeves must sign the bill before the new regulations are added to the law. The changes span fromminor language tweaks to new provisions on background checks and public records.

The medical marijuana program has been fully operable — with dispensaries selling Mississippi-grown cannabis — for just under three months.

The rollout hasn’t been without hiccups. A Mississippi Today investigation found the Department of Health wasn’t being consistent, especially in its approval of cultivation plans, while dealing with a backlog of applications.

Legislators echoed businesses’ concerns throughout hearings over the bill.

“Unfortunately the Department of Health in their rules and regs probably accepted some things that were not intentioned (sic) by the bill,” said Sen. Kevin Blackwell, a Republican from Southaven and one of the bill’s authors on the floor on March 8. “So we are trying to correct those … and we do so in the bill.”

State Sen. Kevin Blackwell, R-Southaven, lead negotiator, holds a bag of hemp to illustrate to lawmakers what specific portions of the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Equivalency Units would look like during his presentation of the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act in the Senate Chamber at the Mississippi State Capitol in Jackson, Miss., Thursday, Jan. 13, 2022. The body passed the act. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Legislators approved a new addition that says: “No state agency, political subdivision or board shall implement any rule, regulation, policy, or requirement that is contrary to the provisions of the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act.”

The bill also turns a mistake by the health department into part of the law. Blackwell told the Senate that the department approved a large operator’s secondary location under one license when it submitted its application. The adjustment allows for the state’s largest cannabis growers to have up to two locations as long as the total canopy size doesn’t exceed 150,000 square feet.

That makes the setup of Mockingbird Cannabis, one of the state’s leading cultivators, with a smaller secondary greenhouse-style location 12 miles from their main site acceptable under one license.

While growers have been debating if adapted greenhouses should be permitted, none of the bill’s updates directly address their use.

Mississippi Today was able to learn specifics about Mockingbird – and the construction of its greenhouse – through a public records request for the DOH’s investigation records.

The law’s changes make investigation records, including citations handed out by health department agents, exempt from the public record law until an investigation has concluded and all appeals ended.

An early draft of the bill called for such records to remain exempt from public record indefinitely, but some senators found the records being exempt from public record for any period unacceptable.

“I think if it was put out in transparency, it would dispel any of the back and forth on social media,” said Sen. Angela Burks Hill, R-Picayune, one of five senators who voted against approving the changes. “I think hiding that is only going to fuel that speculation.”

Sen. Angela Burks Hill, R-Picayune

Critics pointed out an appeal process could take a long time, keeping citation records away from the public and legislators even if they’re ultimately found valid. Blackwell said the changes were made because of “falsehoods” being spread on social media as competitors became aware of other growers’ cited infractions.

The addresses of all cannabis-related businesses, outside of dispensaries, will also be exempt from public record and no longer posted publicly. Rep. Lee Yancey, R-Brandon, said during hearings this was to protect businesses already not accessible to the public, which could be targets vulnerable to crime because of the large amount of cash and marijuana products on hand.

The bill includes several other changes that affect patients and businesses:

  • The Department of Health will now have only 10 days within submission (changed from 30) to approve a patient’s medical cannabis card application. This change comes after MDOH has experienced major backlogs in processing applications.
  • Patients can now have a follow up with a different doctor than the one who first approved their medical cannabis card without disrupting their care or access to medical marijuana.
  • Doctors and nurses who have approved a patient to receive a medical cannabis card can now help them fill out the online application with the state. Yancey said this was especially to help elderly patients.
  • The law now specifies the Mississippi Justice Information Center of the Department of Public Safety and the Federal Bureau of Investigation will handle background checks on workers and caregivers.
  • Testing facilities can become licensed transporters or contract with transporters.
  • Businesses can display marijuana imagery in company logos and other branding. Dispensaries can also post pictures online to display what they sell.
  • Hemp products are not affected by the cannabis act.
  • Dispensaries can sell hemp items that are legal under federal law, such as low-THC products known as “CBD.” Dispensaries can also sell topical products that contain marijuana, which cannot be ingested, to patrons over 21 who don’t have a medical cannabis card. These products have to be placed in a separate area than the products for card holders.
  • Dispensary licensees now have 18 months instead of 12 to complete construction and still maintain their accreditation.
  • The health department can contract with private laboratories for compliance testing, but those labs cannot also perform commercial testing for medical cannabis businesses.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi Today

On this day in 1997

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mississippitoday.org – Jerry Mitchell – 2024-12-22 07:00:00

Dec. 22, 1997

Myrlie Evers and Reena Evers-Everette cheer the jury verdict of Feb. 5, 1994, when Byron De La Beckwith was found guilty of the 1963 murder of Mississippi NAACP leader Medgar Evers. Credit: AP/Rogelio Solis

The Mississippi Supreme Court upheld the conviction of white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith for the 1963 murder of Medgar Evers. 

In the court’s 4–2 decision, Justice Mike Mills praised efforts “to squeeze justice out of the harm caused by a furtive explosion which erupted from dark bushes on a June night in Jackson, Mississippi.” 

He wrote that Beckwith’s constitutional right to a speedy trial had not been denied. His “complicity with the Sovereignty Commission’s involvement in the prior trials contributed to the delay.” 

The decision did more than ensure that Beckwith would stay behind bars. The conviction helped clear the way for other prosecutions of unpunished killings from the Civil Rights Era.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi Today

Medicaid expansion tracker approaches $1 billion loss for Mississippi

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mississippitoday.org – Bobby Harrison – 2024-12-22 06:00:00

About the time people ring in the new year next week, the digital tracker on Mississippi Today’s homepage tabulating the amount of money the state is losing by not expanding Medicaid will hit $1 billion.

The state has lost $1 billion not since the start of the quickly departing 2024 but since the beginning of the state’s fiscal year on July 1.

Some who oppose Medicaid expansion say the digital tracker is flawed.

During an October news conference, when state Auditor Shad White unveiled details of his $2 million study seeking ways to cut state government spending, he said he did not look at Medicaid expansion as a method to save money or grow state revenue.

“I think that (Mississippi Today) calculator is wrong,” White said. “… I don’t think that takes into account how many people are going to be moved off the federal health care exchange where their health care is paid for fully by the federal government and moved onto Medicaid.”

White is not the only Mississippi politician who has expressed concern that if Medicaid expansion were enacted, thousands of people would lose their insurance on the exchange and be forced to enroll in Medicaid for health care coverage.

Mississippi Today’s projections used for the tracker are based on studies conducted by the Institutions of Higher Learning University Research Center. Granted, there are a lot of variables in the study that are inexact. It is impossible to say, for example, how many people will get sick and need health care, thus increasing the cost of Medicaid expansion. But is reasonable that the projections of the University Research Center are in the ballpark of being accurate and close to other studies conducted by health care experts.

White and others are correct that Mississippi Today’s calculator does not take into account money flowing into the state for people covered on the health care exchange. But that money does not go to the state; it goes to insurance companies that, granted, use that money to reimburse Mississippians for providing health care. But at least a portion of the money goes to out-of-state insurance companies as profits.

Both Medicaid expansion and the health care exchange are part of the Affordable Care Act. Under Medicaid expansion people earning up to $20,120 annually can sign up for Medicaid and the federal government will pay the bulk of the cost. Mississippi is one of 10 states that have not opted into Medicaid expansion.

People making more than $14,580 annually can garner private insurance through the health insurance exchanges, and people below certain income levels can receive help from the federal government in paying for that coverage.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, legislation championed and signed into law by President Joe Biden significantly increased the federal subsidies provided to people receiving insurance on the exchange. Those increased subsidies led to many Mississippians — desperate for health care — turning to the exchange for help.

White, state Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney, Gov. Tate Reeves and others have expressed concern that those people would lose their private health insurance and be forced to sign up for Medicaid if lawmakers vote to expand Medicaid.

They are correct.

But they do not mention that the enhanced benefits authored by the Biden administration are scheduled to expire in December 2025 unless they are reenacted by Congress. The incoming Donald Trump administration has given no indication it will continue the enhanced subsidies.

As a matter of fact, the Trump administration, led by billionaire Elon Musk, is looking for ways to cut federal spending.

Some have speculated that Medicaid expansion also could be on Musk’s chopping block.

That is possible. But remember congressional action is required to continue the enhanced subsidies. On the flip side, congressional action would most likely be required to end or cut Medicaid expansion.

Would the multiple U.S. senators and House members in the red states that have expanded Medicaid vote to end a program that is providing health care to thousands of their constituents?

If Congress does not continue Biden’s enhanced subsidies, the rates for Mississippians on the exchange will increase on average about $500 per year, according to a study by KFF, a national health advocacy nonprofit. If that occurs, it is likely that many of the 280,000 Mississippians on the exchange will drop their coverage.

The result will be that Mississippi’s rate of uninsured — already one of the highest in the nation – will rise further, putting additional pressure on hospitals and other providers who will be treating patients who have no ability to pay.

In the meantime, the Mississippi Today counter that tracks the amount of money Mississippi is losing by not expanding Medicaid keeps ticking up.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi Today

On this day in 1911

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mississippitoday.org – Jerry Mitchell – 2024-12-21 07:00:00

Dec. 21, 1911

A colorized photograph of Josh Gibson, who was playing with the Homestead Grays Credit: Wikipedia

Josh Gibson, the Negro League’s “Home Run King,” was born in Buena Vista, Georgia. 

When the family’s farm suffered, they moved to Pittsburgh, and Gibson tried baseball at age 16. He eventually played for a semi-pro team in Pittsburgh and became known for his towering home runs. 

He was watching the Homestead Grays play on July 25, 1930, when the catcher injured his hand. Team members called for Gibson, sitting in the stands, to join them. He was such a talented catcher that base runners were more reluctant to steal. He hit the baseball so hard and so far (580 feet once at Yankee Stadium) that he became the second-highest paid player in the Negro Leagues behind Satchel Paige, with both of them entering the National Baseball Hame of Fame. 

The Hall estimated that Gibson hit nearly 800 homers in his 17-year career and had a lifetime batting average of .359. Gibson was portrayed in the 1996 TV movie, “Soul of the Game,” by Mykelti Williamson. Blair Underwood played Jackie Robinson, Delroy Lindo portrayed Satchel Paige, and Harvey Williams played “Cat” Mays, the father of the legendary Willie Mays. 

Gibson has now been honored with a statue outside the Washington Nationals’ ballpark.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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