Mississippi Freedom Caucus Statement on Medical Marijuana Bill

 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Chairman Steve Hopkins

Mississippi Freedom Caucus

662-469-6242

info@freedomcaucus.ms

Jackson, MS (January 18, 2022) — After a thorough review of Senate Bill 2095 (The Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act), the Mississippi Freedom Caucus Chairman Steve Hopkins released the following statement:

Just as President Trump signed the federal “Right to Try” law while in office, providing patients with the right to obtain and use cutting-edge medical treatments without first receiving government approval, we too believe in the rights of all Mississippians to obtain and use medicines without first having to seek permission of the government to do so. 

We have continuously stood for medical freedoms in Mississippi and believe that just like all other medical treatments, the government should not seek to profit from those with debilitating diseases who are simply seeking treatment and relief. While this bill provides patients with the relief they desperately need, the politicians in Jackson are once again trying to stick their hands into the pockets of Mississippian’s, this time in the pockets of some of our most ill citizens. 

Any freedom that a person must first pay homage to the government to exercise, is no freedom at all. 

The MFC acknowledges that the bill will provide much needed relief for many patients in the state, yet it will also increase the tax revenue that the state collects and will grow the size and scope of three agencies in the state. 

If the bill passes, patients that seek medical marijuana as a treatment based on the recommendation of a doctor, physician’s assistant, nurse practitioner, or optometrist will be taxed at a rate of 12 percent. Currently, no other prescribed medicine or medical treatment is taxed in the State of Mississippi. 

The MFC will work to amend the bill as it continues its path through the legislative process, in order to provide true medical freedom without any additional financial burdens to the patients that seek relief from debilitating diseases.

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