Attorneys defend Mississippi marijuana initiative process

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi attorney general says the state Supreme Court should dismiss a mayor’s lawsuit over a medical marijuana initiative.

Private attorneys for the sponsors of Initiative 65 agree. They say the mayor of Madison is misreading the process for getting a proposal on the ballot.

A majority of voters approved Initiative 65 last week. The state Health Department is supposed to create a medical marijuana program by the middle of next year.

Mayor Mary Hawkins Butler is an opponent of medical marijuana. She filed suit days before the election, arguing that sponsors of Initiative 65 failed to follow the correct procedure for gathering signatures.

Paul Robinson places the photograph of his late daughter Jenna Robinson at the lectern prior to speaking in favor of Initiative 65 during a rally of patients and parents in Ridgeland, Miss., Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. Robinson’s 17-year-old daughter suffered from refractory epilepsy, and he believes a treatment plan including medical marijuana would have been therapeutic for her. Initiative 65 would amend the Mississippi Constitution to allow the prescription by a doctor of up to 5 ounces (142 grams) of marijuana per month for people who suffer from more than 20 medical conditions. The state lawmakers are offering a more restrictive measure as an alternative. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
FILE – In this Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020, file photo, Sheldon Smith, center, holds the photographs of his children Deshawn Smith, 11, left, and Trinitee Smith, 13, both suffering from sickle cell anemia, during an Initiative 65 rally in Ridgeland, Miss. Smith and his wife Keishawna Smith believe their children would benefit from medical marijuana treatment for pain management. Initiative 65 would amend the Mississippi Constitution to allow the prescription by a doctor of up to 5 ounces (142 grams) of marijuana per month for people who suffer from more than 20 medical conditions. The state lawmakers are offering a more restrictive measure as an alternative. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)