On Thursday, the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee held a Medical Marijuana hearing where they discussed Initiative 65.
Legislators urged the committee to take into consideration the rules and regulations that come with the medical marijuana program as well as placing an emphasis on its medical use, not recreational.
The hearing featured four speakers:
Ken Newburger, Mississippi Medical Marijuana Association
Dr. Thomas Dobbs, State Health Officer
Shari Veazey, Executive Director of Mississippi Municipal League
Dr. Larry Walker, Director Emeritus of the National Center for Natural Products Research- University of Mississippi
Dr. Dobbs went into depth on the known potential harms of Cannabis (THC) and the information that they have learned along the way. MSDH has been working to implement the state’s program since Initiative 65 passed in November 2020.
Ken Newburger explained that though the Initiative was good from a patient perspective he recognized that there were problems from a business perspective.
Dr. Larry Walker presented the potential benefits of Cannabis, if a medical program was approved.
“There’s no doubt in my mind as a pharmacist as a pharmacologist that there are potential medical benefits of the medical plant,” Dr. Walker.
