Alabama And Louisiana Are Enacting Or Extending Medical Marijuana Programs. What About Mississippi?

 ========= Old Image Removed =========Array
(
    [_wp_attached_file] => Array
        (
            [0] => 2020/08/tolu-bamwo-nappy-.jpeg
        )

    [_wp_attachment_metadata] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:5:{s:5:"width";i:2560;s:6:"height";i:1437;s:4:"file";s:30:"2020/08/tolu-bamwo-nappy-.jpeg";s:5:"sizes";a:14:{s:6:"medium";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:30:"tolu-bamwo-nappy--336x189.jpeg";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:189;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:5:"large";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:30:"tolu-bamwo-nappy--771x433.jpeg";s:5:"width";i:771;s:6:"height";i:433;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:30:"tolu-bamwo-nappy--140x140.jpeg";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:12:"medium_large";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:30:"tolu-bamwo-nappy--768x431.jpeg";s:5:"width";i:768;s:6:"height";i:431;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"1536x1536";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:31:"tolu-bamwo-nappy--1536x862.jpeg";s:5:"width";i:1536;s:6:"height";i:862;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"2048x2048";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:32:"tolu-bamwo-nappy--2048x1150.jpeg";s:5:"width";i:2048;s:6:"height";i:1150;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:28:"tolu-bamwo-nappy--80x80.jpeg";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:13:"wbhm-featured";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:30:"tolu-bamwo-nappy--600x338.jpeg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:338;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:20:"wbhm-featured-square";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:30:"tolu-bamwo-nappy--600x600.jpeg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:600;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:30:"tolu-bamwo-nappy--554x311.jpeg";s:5:"width";i:554;s:6:"height";i:311;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:30:"tolu-bamwo-nappy--470x265.jpeg";s:5:"width";i:470;s:6:"height";i:265;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:28:"ab-block-post-grid-landscape";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:30:"tolu-bamwo-nappy--600x400.jpeg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:400;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:25:"ab-block-post-grid-square";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:30:"tolu-bamwo-nappy--600x600.jpeg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:600;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:30:"tolu-bamwo-nappy--125x125.jpeg";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}}s:10:"image_meta";a:12:{s:8:"aperture";s:1:"0";s:6:"credit";s:0:"";s:6:"camera";s:0:"";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:17:"created_timestamp";s:1:"0";s:9:"copyright";s:0:"";s:12:"focal_length";s:1:"0";s:3:"iso";s:1:"0";s:13:"shutter_speed";s:1:"0";s:5:"title";s:0:"";s:11:"orientation";s:1:"0";s:8:"keywords";a:0:{}}}
        )

    [_rs_image_updated] => Array
        (
            [0] => 1
        )

    [_edit_lock] => Array
        (
            [0] => 1597062822:113
        )

    [_media_credit] => Array
        (
            [0] => Tolu Bamwo
        )

    [_navis_media_credit_org] => Array
        (
            [0] => Nappy
        )

    [_navis_media_can_distribute] => Array
        (
            [0] => 
        )

    [_edit_last] => Array
        (
            [0] => 113
        )

)
1654933407 
1625234476

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.

(L-R) Brad Calhoun, Austin Calhoun and Angie Calhoun of Puckett, Mississippi.

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.

 

Justice Department says Trump can cancel national monuments that protect landscapes

A Justice Department legal opinion released Tuesday disavowed a 1938 determination that monuments created by previous presidents under the Antiquities Act can't be revoked.

Hungarians declare resistance to Orbán’s government with a large protest

It was the latest anti-government protest since Orbán's party pushed through a law in March, and a constitutional amendment the following month, that effectively banned public LGBTQ+ events.

Argentina’s top court upholds Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s corruption conviction

Former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner — one of Latin America's most recognizable political figures — is facing 6 years in prison and a lifetime ban from office after a major corruption conviction upheld.

The U.S. and China have agreed on a framework to resolve their trade disputes

After two days of talks in London, the U.S. and China have agreed in principle on a framework to carry out an agreement they reached on resolving their trade disputes last month, Chinese state media said.

Alabama executes Gregory Hunt by nitrogen gas for 1988 murder of Karen Lane

Hunt's execution marks Alabama's third this year, on pace to match the six it carried out last year, and the fifth time it used the controversial method.

National Park signage encourages the public to help erase negative stories at its sites

The Department of the Interior is requiring the National Park Service to post signage nationwide by June 13, asking visitors for feedback on any information they feel misrepresents American history.

More Front Page Coverage