Alabama And Louisiana Are Enacting Or Extending Medical Marijuana Programs. What About Mississippi?
Last November, 74% of Mississippi voters approved adopting a medical marijuana program. For some, like 25-year-old Austin Calhoun, the decision felt like a ticket back home.
Calhoun spent most of his senior year of high school bedridden due to Lyme disease. He met with 20 local doctors to try and find relief for his symptoms but eventually made the decision to move to Colorado in 2015 so he could get a medical marijuana prescription to help keep his ailments — like seizures, chronic nausea and vomiting, and arthritis — under control.
Photo Courtesy Of Austin Calhoun
(L-R) Brad Calhoun, Austin Calhoun and Angie Calhoun of Puckett, Mississippi.
“I started making arrangements to sell my house,” Calhoun said after hearing about the voters’ decision. “Around May, I decided it was time for me to just come back home and be with my family.”
In May, however, Mississippi’s State Supreme Court struck down the voter-approved medical marijuana initiative, ruling the program void due to the state’s initiative process being outdated.
Alabama and Louisiana have both implemented or extended their own medical marijuana programs recently. But while some in Mississippi feel both states got the momentum to pass their legislation due to their efforts, Mississippi is now back at square one.
Lawmakers are hopeful to have a new bill drafted by the end of summer.
Read the full story from our partners at Mississippi Public Broadcasting here.
This story was produced by the Gulf States Newsroom, a collaboration between Mississippi Public Broadcasting, WBHM in Birmingham, Ala., WWNO in New Orleans and NPR.
Top Instagram reels from Goats and Soda in 2025: Plumpy’Nut, aid cuts, soccer grannies
Our most-viewed Instagram videos include reports from a Rhode Island factory that makes special food for malnourished children and from a tournament for soccer-playing "grannies."
‘The Rest of Our Lives’ takes readers on a midlife crisis road trip
America's literary highways may be plenty crowded with middle-aged runaways fleeing lives that increasingly feel like a bad fit. But Ben Markovits adds a moving tale to the collection.
Hunker down with these 13 mysteries and thrillers from 2025
Mysteries and thrillers are enjoyable no matter the season, but there's something extra satisfying about curling up in the winter with a warm drink and an all-engrossing read. Here's what we suggest.
Should the U.S. model its vaccine policy on Denmark’s? Experts say we’re nothing alike
The Trump administration wants to revamp U.S. childhood vaccination recommendations to align with some other peer nations, including one tiny country in northern Europe.
Marijuana rescheduling would bring some immediate changes, but others will take time
President Trump set the process in motion to ease federal restrictions on marijuana. But his order doesn't automatically revoke laws targeting marijuana, which remains illegal to transport over state lines.
The cultural works becoming public domain in 2026, from Betty Boop to Nancy Drew
The original Betty Boop, the first four Nancy Drew books and Greta Garbo's first talkie are among the many works from 1930 that will be free to use, share and remake starting on Jan. 1.
