Mississippians want medical marijuana. They said so at the polls last November when 74% of them voted for Amendment 65, the medical marijuana initiative that had jumped through all the procedural hoops to make it onto the ballot. They also said they wanted that specific language, rejecting a watered-down Alternate Amendment 65A sponsored by the Republican-dominated state legislature in a bid to seize control over the issue.

But before the voters had spoken, long-time Republican Madison Mayor Mary Hawkins Butler filed suit to have the initiative thrown out on what can fairly be described as a technicality. And last Friday, the state Supreme Court, consisting of five justices appointed by Republican governors and four selected in nonpartisan elections, agreed, overturning the clear will of the voters because the legislature has failed to act for two decades on a constitutional housecleaning issue.

Under a provision of the state constitution added in the 1990s, Section 273, initiative campaigns are required to get one-fifth of signatures from each of five congressional districts, which seems straightforward enough. The only problem is that since congressional reapportionment after the 2000 census, the state only has four districts, making it impossible for any initiative to comply with the constitutional language.

Since 2000, the state has seen numerous initiatives, with many, including a 2011 voter ID initiative, becoming state law. None of them have been thrown out because of the conflict between the Section 273 language and reality. Until now.

In its 6-3 decision in Butler v. Watson (Watson being the secretary of state), the Supreme Court rejected the argument that the state's loss of a congressional seat renders the Section 273 language "unworkable and inoperable on its face," and instead pronounced itself bound to find Amendment 65 "insufficient" because it cannot meet the five district requirement. And it pointed a finger back at the legislature:

"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," the court held. "To work in today's reality, it will need amending -- something that lies beyond the power of the Supreme Court."

The decision is not going over well, and not only with medical marijuana advocates, but also in the state legislature, where this week calls arose among lawmakers for a special session to deal with medical marijuana and with the constitutional initiative problem.

"The Mississippi Supreme Court just overturned the will of the people of Mississippi," Ken Newburger, executive director for the Mississippi Medical Marijuana Association, said in a statement. "Patients will now continue the suffering that so many Mississippians voted to end. The Court ignored existing case law and prior decisions. Their reasoning ignores the intent of the constitution and takes away people's constitutional right. It's a sad day for Mississippi when the Supreme Court communicates to a vast majority of the voters that their vote doesn't matter."

"The Supreme Court's decision effectively told the people of Mississippi: 'You have no voice, no vehicle for voter initiative, y'all's power is over,'" said Diesoul Blankenship of Mississippians for Medical Marijuana. "It's nothing short of erroneous and illegal."

"228,000 Mississippians signed petitions to put medical marijuana on the ballot last year, and an overwhelming majority of the state voted to approve it in November," said Angie Calhoun, Board Member of the Mississippi Medical Marijuana Association. "In addition to silencing the votes of three-fourths of the state, today the Supreme Court squashed the hope of thousands of patients like my son, who will now not be able to find relief through medical marijuana. As a mother of a patient, I am heartbroken and outraged that this was allowed to happen."

National supporters of Amendment 65 chimed in, too.

In a statement last Friday, Marijuana Policy Project deputy director Matthew Schweich called it a "cruel and tragic day" for Mississippi patients and described the court decision as "deeply flawed."

"As a result, tens of thousands of Mississippians with debilitating health conditions will be denied safe, legal access to something that can alleviate their pain and improve their quality of life. Instead, they will once again be treated as criminals under the law, Schweich said. "To add insult to injury, this decision not only nullifies the will of hundreds of thousands of voters, it also effectively eliminates Mississippians' right to bring forward ballot initiatives to amend their state's constitution. The legislature must take action to fix the ballot initiative requirements and honor the will of their constituents by enacting Amendment 65 into law through the legislative process."

"Our hearts are broken for the patients in Mississippi who need access to medical cannabis, as well as their families who will continue to watch their loved ones needlessly suffer. We stand with them. The fight for a compassionate medical cannabis law in Mississippi will continue."

There are growing bipartisan calls for a special session to rectify the situation.

Republican House Speaker Phillip Gunn said Monday he is open to the special session. "If the legislature does not act on an issue that the people of Mississippi want, then the people need a mechanism to change the law. I support the governor calling us into a special session to protect this important right of the people," the Republican representative said in a statement.

Democratic state Rep. John Hines told said Tuesday the court's decision against the electorate was shocking and Reeves needed to act. "The governor's in the driver's seat when we're out of session," he said. "It's his prerogative to call a session or not call a session."

A poll released Tuesday could add to the mounting pressure on the governor. It found 60% of respondents disapproved of the Supreme Court ruling and wanted Reeves to call a special session.

Reeves, though, is so far noncommittal. In remarks Tuesday, he said: "The people have spoken. They made their voice heard and voted overwhelmingly to have a (medical marijuana) program and Mississippi should have that."

But when asked directly about calling a special session, his response was: "We are a long way from being able to make that decision."

And the people of Mississippi wait, thwarted.

Ohio medical marijuana regulators expand the list of qualifying conditions, West Virginia medical marijuana regulators ponder allowing patient home grows, Kenyan Rastafaris petition seek to have their marijuana use legalized, and more.

Medical Marijuana

Alabama Becomes Newest Medical Marijuana State. With the signature of Gov. Kay Ivey (R) on Senate Bill 46, medical marijuana is now set to become legal in the state. The new law allows the use of medical marijuana for a set of specified medical conditions and creates the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission to oversee how marijuana is grown.

Kansas Medical Marijuana Bill Wins Committee Vote. A medical marijuana bill, House Substitute for Senate Bill 158, has been approved by the House Federal and State Affairs Committee after it approved several amendments. This is the second time the committee has approved the reform proposal for this session. But in March, the House sent the bill back to the committee for further consideration.

Mississippi Supreme Court Voids Voter-Approved Medical Marijuana Law. The state Supreme Court last Friday threw out a voter-approved medical marijuana initiative, ruling that it did not meet the state's requirement that 20% of signatures come from each of five congressional districts. The problem is that the state has only had four congressional districts since the 2000 census, and legislative efforts to redress the issue have yet to succeed. Three justices strongly dissented, saying that the secretary of state has rightfully put the measure on the ballot. "The Mississippi Supreme Court just overturned the will of the people of Mississippi," Ken Newburger, executive director for the Mississippi Medical Marijuana Association, said in a statement. "The Court ignored existing case law and prior decisions. Their reasoning ignores the intent of the constitution and takes away people’s constitutional right. It’s a sad day for Mississippi when the Supreme Court communicates to a vast majority of the voters that their vote doesn’t matter."

Ohio Medical Marijuana Panel Approves Three New Qualifying Conditions. A panel of the Ohio Medical Board has added three new qualifying conditions allowing state residents to use medical marijuana: arthritis, chronic migraines and complex regional pain syndrome, all of which fall into the existing category of chronic or intractable pain.

West Virginia Regulators Considers Allowing Patients to Grow Their Own. The West Virginia Medical Cannabis Advisory Board is considering a possible recommendation to allow state medical marijuana patients to grow their own plants. Patient advocates cited the cost of buying medical marijuana dispensaries and obstacles to access for residents who do not live near dispensaries. A decision will come some weeks down the road.

International

Kenyan Rastafaris File Petition Seeking to Legalize Marijuana. The Rastafarian Society of Kenya has filed a petition challenging the constitutionality of the country's drug laws and seeking the suspension of that section of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act of 1994 dealing with marijuana when it comes to Rastafaris. "The Petitioners aver that followers/believers of the Rastafari faith use bhang or cannabis by either smoking, drinking, eating, bathing and/or burning of incense for spiritual, medicinal, culinary and ceremonial purposes as sacrament as the ultimate of manifesting their religion as a Rastafari to meditate and or reason with others in order to connect with their God," the petition said.

The Maryland Court of Appeals rules that the smell of marijuana is not sufficient probable cause to justify an officer stop, the DC city council ponders reserving some medical marijuana licenses for formerly incarcerated drug offenders, and more.

Marijuana Policy

Maryland Appeals Court Rules Smell of Marijuana Doesn't Justify Officer Stops. The state Court of Special Appeals ruled last week that simply smelling the odor of marijuana does not justify a police officer stopping and investigating someone. The court held that police need "reasonable suspicion" that a crime has been committed and that just smelling marijuana doesn't meet that standard. The state decriminalized the possession of up to 10 grams back in 2004, and the court held that since possession of less than that amount is not a crime and since the "odor of marijuana alone does not indicate the quantity, if any, in someone's possession," police cannot rely solely on the odor to conduct a stop and investigation.

Medical Marijuana

Louisiana House Approves Bill to Allow Patients to Use Smokable Marijuana. The House on Monday voted 73-26 to approve  House Bill 391, which would expand the state's limited medical marijuana program to allow patients to purchase whole-flower marijuana. The measure now heads to the Senate.

DC Council Considers Legislation to Reserve Some Business Licenses for Formerly Incarcerated Drug Offenders. The city council on Tuesday is taking up legislation that would reserve some new medical marijuana licenses for people who have done time for drug offenses. It is the latest move by the District to try to increase equity in the industry. The bill instructs the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration, which regulates the industry, to reserve at least one dispensary license, one cultivation center license, and one testing lab license for ex-offenders.

Heroin and Prescription Opioids

Drug Distribution Companies Go on Trial for Allegedly Fomenting Opioid Addiction Crisis. A federal lawsuit targeting a trio of big drug distribution companies for their role in the ongoing opioid addiction crisis got underway Monday in Huntington, West Virginia. The city of Huntington is suing AmerisourceBergen Drug Company, Cardinal Health Inc, and the McKesson Corporation and alleging they pumped 1.1 billion opioid pain pills into the state, leading to widespread addiction and more than 1,700 opioid overdose deaths statewide. The lawsuit does not address the need of chronic pain patients to have access to sometimes large amounts of prescription opioids. It is one of hundreds filed against drug makers and distributors over the opioid crisis.

Psychedelics

Ecstasy Shown to Help with PTSD When Paired with Therapy. A study about to be published in Nature Medicine found that people with sever post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) who were given MDMA (Ecstasy) in conjunction with talk therapy experienced a significantly greater reduction in symptom severity than those who got therapy and a placebo. The study also reported no serious adverse effects, although some participants experienced mild nausea and loss of appetite.

DC's mayor is ready to move ahead with legalizing marijuana sales, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is ready to move ahead with federal marijuana legalization, and more.

Marijuana Policy

Senate Majority Leader Says Democrats Are Ready to Push Ahead on Marijuana Legalization Whether President Supports It or Not. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said that even though President Joe Biden (D) only supports marijuana decriminalization, "we will move forward" even if the president doesn't get on board. "He said he's studying the issue," Schumer said. "I want to make my arguments to him, as many other advocates will. But at some point, we're going to move forward, period." Schumer also clarified that: "I am personally for legalization. And the bill that we'll be introducing is headed in that direction."

Nevada Bill Would Allow for Marijuana Consumption Lounges. Assemblyman Steve Yeager (D-Las Vegas) has filed a bill that would allow for marijuana consumption lounges to operate in the state. While marijuana is legal, it is illegal to consumer it in public or in hotel rooms, and Yeager said that presents a conundrum for residents and tourists. "They can't bring it into their hotel rooms. They can't consume it outside," Yeager said. The bill, introduced Friday, is not yet available on the state legislative web site.

DC Mayor Says City is Ready to Legalize Marijuana Sales Once Congress Gets Out of the Way. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) said last Friday that city officials are ready to move forward with implementing legal marijuana sales once Congress removes a rider that has prevented the city from doing so. "We have a tax-and-regulates scheme. We've prepared our alcohol and beverage office to be prepared to implement regulation," she said. "And we have to we have to get the hurdle of Congress out of the way."

NYPD Says You Can Now Smoke a Joint in Public. In the wake of Governor Andrew Cuomo's (D) signing marijuana legalization into effect, with the legalization of possession of small amounts in effect immediately, the NYPD has issued a memo noting that people can smoke marijuana in public anywhere they can smoke a cigarette in public. Smoking marijuana on sidewalks or front stoops is no longer "a basis for an approach, stop, summons, arrest, or search" the department memo said. But the city bans smoking in parks and at beaches, so there is no marijuana smoking allowed there, either.

Psychedelics

Third Massachusetts City Approves Psychedelic Decriminalization. Last Thursday night, the Northampton City Council approved a resolution calling for the deprioritization of drug law enforcement against natural psychedelics. Included are psilocybin, ayahuasca, and a number of other entheogenic plants and fungi. The measure passed on a unanimous vote, making Northampton the third city in the state to enact such reforms, after Somerville and Cambridge.

Drug Treatment

ACLU, NYCLU Sue New York County over Methadone Access in Prison. The ACLU and its state affiliate, the New York Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit Monday against Jefferson County seeking to compel the Jefferson County Correctional Facility to provide access for methadone treatment for opioid use disorder. The county bans methadone treatment for prisoners, which plaintiffs argue violates state civil rights law, the US Constitution, and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Law Enforcement

Sentencing Commission Report Decline in Drug Prosecutions Last Year. During Fiscal Year 2020, federal prosecutors filed some 64,565 criminal cases, a decline of 15.6% over the previous year, "reflecting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the work of the courts." Drug possession cases continued a five-year decline, dropping 22%, while drug trafficking cases, which had gone up slightly in Fiscal Year 2019, had declined 17% in FY 2020. The most common federal prosecutions were immigration cases, accounting for 41% of all federal prosecutions.