Jamie Grantham of the Medical Marijuana 2020 Campaign spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the club's October 15, 2019 meeting. She focused her comments on the sponsors and steering committee of the campaign and what the organization deems to be the advantages and controls that will be instituted if the proposition is approved by the voters of Mississippi in the 2020 election.
For example, only marijuana grown and processed in Mississippi could be sold in Mississippi under the law. Also, only licensed medical practitioners; i.e., M. D.s and D. O.s, could certify the need for medical marijuana. Purchasers would be required to have Medical Marijuana identity cards issued by the Mississippi Department of Health to make purchases. If approved, the medical marijuana system would be financed by grower, processor, and user fees although the Mississippi Department of Health would be authorized to borrow $2.5 million from the State Treasury for its initial start-up.
The arguments to approve the proposition are that it should reduce the use of conventional pain control medications, i.e., opioids and that it would be targeted at people suffering from chronic debilitating pain from diseases on a list of qualifying conditions that she included on her slides. That list included cancer, epilepsy, PTSD, etc. She cited studies that show that the use of medical marijuana has fewer side effects than opioids and that states that have approved medical marijuana have a 24.8% lower opioid overdose death rate than states without such laws.
If the proposition is approved, Mississippi would be joining 33 other states that have approved medical marijuana. Grantham urged the club members to support the proposition. We thank her for her presentation and for giving us “food for thought.” She is shown below with club member Larry Anderson who introduced her.
