Regulatory Update: Miss. Officials Denounce Cannabis Lawsuit, Texas Lawmakers Eye 2021

Mississippi officials want to disqualify the state's cannabis reform measure after 74.1% of voters said yes to medical legalization.

The appeal isn't because they oppose reform. The reform measure, they claim, was unlawfully placed on the ballot (h/t Marijuana Moment).

Why It Matters: Mississippi state law requires that “signatures of the qualified electors from any congressional district shall not exceed one-fifth (1/5) of the total number of signatures required to qualify an initiative petition for placement upon the ballot.”

That policy was created when Mississippi had five congressional districts, which has since been lowered to four. This created irregularity, the report continued.

The Mississippi secretary of state and attorney general clapped back, calling it is “woefully untimely.”

“Even if their interpretative argument is correct, petitioners’ action is woefully untimely," the office said. "They could have asserted their so-called ‘procedural’ challenge years ago, and certainly when former-Secretary of State Hosemann officially filed Initiative Measure 65 in September 2019... Petitioners’ inexcusable and unreasonable delay has prejudiced the Secretary of State, the State, and the public-at-large.”

But the petitioners haven’t given up, insisting that everything must be done "by the rules."

“The wisdom of medical marijuana in Mississippi is not on trial here," they said. "The issue is whether the plain language of the Constitution must be followed. The question is simple but the stakes are high. The rule of law depends on it.”

Texas: Meanwhile, lawmakers in the Lonestar State are expected to propose several cannabis-related bills for 2021, including a bill to legalize marijuana for adults 21 and older. 

It's just one of at least nine pieces of marijuana legislation, according to Marijuana Moment.

SB 140, Sponsored by state Sen.-elect Roland Gutierrez, joins other bills lawmakers pre-filed on Monday, including the legalization of high-THC cannabis for medical use and decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana.

The measure is expected to yield a $3.6 billion increase in the state’s economy, Gutierrez said Monday.

Texans anticipate a market that's almost as big as the current California market, Matt Hawkins, founder of Entourage Effect Capital says.

Other bills — HB 43, sponsored by Rep. Alex Dominguez, and SB 90, sponsored by Sen. José Menéndez — also address medical marijuana reform.

Jelena Martinovic also contributed to this story.