Mississippi Voters Choose Initiative 65, Clearing Medical Marijuana's Path To Market

More than 609,000 voters in Mississippi — 74.1% — have voted in favor of medical marijuana.

The total number of votes hovered 822,000.

Per the New York Times, medicinal cannabis would become legal in the Magnolia State for people with debilitating medical conditions.

For the initiative to pass, it must receive a majority of the votes cast on the question.

Mississippi is unique in that it had two medical cannabis bills for voters to choose from — Initiative 65 and Initiative 65A.

The measures represent rather different options for the medical market. Initiative 65, which voters approved, was placed on the ballot by advocates as a more patient-focused initiative. It includes a broad license system for businesses and ensures reasonable access for patients in every municipality.

65A, which was backed by conservative state lawmakers, has been criticized for its failure to produce specifics on critical factors laid out in the advocate-backed bill.

65A "basically took all the teeth out of the medical bill" and includes a ban on smokeable flower, National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) Executive Director Erik Altieri said.

A survey conducted by FM3 Research projected that voters would support Initiative 65 over the competing 65A bill, 52% to 23%.