Mississippi marijuana laws

Is marijuana legal in Mississippi?

Medical marijuana was legalized in Mississippi in Feb. 2022. Non-medical marijuana remains illegal.

Mississippi voters overwhelmingly approved the legalization of medical marijuana in Nov. 2020. But in May 2021, the Mississippi State Supreme Court invalidated that entire measure based on a technicality in the state’s initiative process law.

In Feb. 2022, the state legislature passed a bill legalizing medical cannabis. Gov. Tate Reeves signed it into law.

Under the new law, patients must obtain a recommendation from a medical practitioner, and register with the state. Regulators started issuing licenses to grow and sell medical marijuana in 2022.

Once a state-issued card has been obtained, a registered patient may purchase and possess up to 3.5 ounces of cannabis per month.

The penalties for possession of marijuana by a person not registered as a medical marijuana in Mississippi are severe and can include a minimum 2 years in jail for growing a single plant.

Yes, possession of less than 30 grams is a maximum $250 fine, but you’re looking at a minimum one to two years in prison for a single THC vape cart bought out of state.

Don’t mess around with cannabis in Mississippi, which has about 5,000 marijuana arrests per year.

Penalties for possession:

• Up to 30 grams: $250 fine
• Second conviction in two years, up to 30 grams: misdemeanor, max 60 days jail, $250 
• Third conviction in two years, up to 30 grams: misdemeanor, max six months jail, $1,000 
• 30g – 250g: felony, up to one year jail, $1,000 
• 250g – 500g: felony, min. two years/max 8, $50,000
• 500g – 1 kilo: felony, min. four years/max 16, $250,000
• 1-5 kilos: felony, min. six years/max 24, $500,000
• 5 kilos and up: felony, min 10 years/max 30, $10,000,000

Mississippi medical marijuana legalization efforts

Mississippi voters legalized medical cannabis on Nov. 3, 2020, with Initiative 65. A dominating 74% of voters approved the measure.

The Medical Marijuana 2020 campaign gathered 228,000 signatures to place Initiative 65 on the ballot.

Initiative 65 legalizes up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis every 14 days, if bought from a “marijuana treatment center” that is licensed by the state. There’s a $100 fine for smoking medical weed in public.

In May 2021, the Mississippi State Supreme Court invalidated the initiative based on a technicality in the state initiative process law.

The state legislature subsequently took up the issue in early 2022, and passed a modified medical marijuana legalization bill. Gov. Tate Reeves signed the bill into law on Feb. 2, 2022.

Mississippi qualifying conditions for medical marijuana

Here is a list of qualifying debilitating conditions that would make you eligible for a medical marijuana card in Mississippi:

• Cancer
• epilepsy or other seizures
• Parkinson’s disease
• Huntington’s disease
• muscular dystrophy
• multiple sclerosis
• Cachexia
• post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• positive status for human immunodeficiency virus
• acquired immune deficiency syndrome
• chronic or debilitating pain
• amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
• Glaucoma
• agitation of dementias
• Crohn’s disease
• ulcerative colitis
• sickle-cell anemia
• autism with aggressive or self-injurious behaviors
• pain refractory to appropriate opioid management
• spinal cord disease or severe injury
• intractable nausea
• severe muscle spasticity

Mississippi does not have recreational cannabis up for a popular vote, or pending in the statehouse.

A 2019 poll found 67% of Mississippi voters support medical cannabis.

Register to vote in Mississippi using this online form

Mississippi cannabis DUI laws

Like everywhere else, it’s illegal to drive while under the influence. Cannabis is a controlled substance in Mississippi, and you can’t drive intoxicated on a controlled substance.

Mississippi has an implied consent law, meaning that the mere act of driving implies your consent to a roadside sobriety test if a police officer has a “reasonable suspicion” you are driving high. That can include your smell or how you behave, which can be completely subjective. Refusing a chemical test results in an automatic license suspension of 90 days.

The penalties are severe for intoxicated driving on any substance. They can include two days in jail for a first offense.

Cannabis DUI penalties:

• First offense: up to 48 hrs jail, minimum $250 / $1,000, up to one year license suspension
• Second conviction in five years: minimum five days, min. $600, up to two years license suspension
• Third offense in 5 years: felony, minimum one year jail, $2,000-$5,000