Mississippi Gun Rights for Medical Cannabis Patients

On November 3, 2020, two medical marijuana initiatives, also known as Mississippi Ballot Measure 1 (Initiative 65 and Alternative 65A), were on the ballot in Mississippi.

Both measures called for the legalization of medical marijuana, but they differed in the specifics, with Initiative 65 being a citizen-initiated and 65A being a legislatively referred measure. 

Voters were given two options on the ballot: the first asked them to choose between rejecting both measures and approving either of the measures, and the second asked them to choose between the two measures.

Voters in Mississippi voted 69% in support of implementing a medicinal cannabis program. 74% of those voters chose Initiative 65, the more comprehensive medical marijuana program, over Initiative 65A, a far more limited option that lawmakers had put on the ballot. Initiative 65 was then approved.

But the initiative was overturned by the Mississippi Supreme Court on May 14, 2021, and the court ruled that unless politicians and voters modify state law and the constitution, the state’s ballot initiative procedure was “unworkable and inoperative.”

In 2022, following the invalidation of the 2020 medical marijuana initiative and the state’s initiative process in 2021, the Mississippi State Legislature finally enacted legislation to establish a medicinal marijuana program.

On February 2, 2022, Governor Tate Reeves (R) signed the Mississippi Medicinal Cannabis Act (SB 2095) into law, legalizing the use of medicinal cannabis in Mississippi for the treatment of severe medical conditions.

In SB 2095, legislators and the governor attempted to strike a balance between the strongly preferred broad approach by voters and the severely limited strategy supported by some legislators.

The Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act’s legislative provisions are administered by the Mississippi State Department of Health (MDOH) and the first medical cannabis purchase occurred on January 25, 2023. 

Does Having a Medical Cannabis Card Mean Not Being Eligible for a Gun License in Mississippi?

According to federal law, anyone with a medicinal marijuana license is not authorized to own or buy weapons or ammunition, since medical marijuana is still illegal at the federal level.

Whether a state has legalized the drug or not is irrelevant. 

Despite this, legislators in Mississippi gave careful consideration to this issue because firearms are an integral part of Mississippi’s history and culture.

According to the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act, neither a state nor a local government may prohibit medical marijuana users from purchasing or owning a handgun.

Section 8 (3) of the Act states: “a registered qualifying patient or registered designated caregiver shall not be denied the right to own, purchase or possess a firearm, firearm accessory or ammunition based solely on his or her status as a registered qualifying patient or registered designated caregiver…”

However, law enforcement may be able to get data from a patient registry or state database on people who are qualified to receive a medicinal marijuana card, as stated in Section 15 (2) of the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act.

So, on a state level, you will not have a problem owning both a medical marijuana card and a gun license.

Can You Take Your Gun to a Dispensary in Mississippi?

Mississippi is a shall-issue, permitless carry state where the Department of Public Safety issues concealed handgun licenses at the state level.

When purchasing a handgun from a private individual, no license, background check, or registration of guns is necessary. A background check is necessary for purchasing a handgun from a Federal Firearms Dealer.

Anyone at least 18 years old and legally allowed to own a firearm may open and conceal carry it without a permit in Mississippi, subject to a number of conditions.

One of those conditions is that the firearm must be carried in a holster, sheath, or scabbard. Mississippi honors gun licenses from other states and directly issues two types of permits — the Standard Firearms Permit (SFP) and the Enhanced Standard Firearms Permit (E-SFP) — which authorize carry in additional places. 

There are places where firearms are still off-limits even if you have a permit.

With a Standard Firearm Permit:

• Any elementary or secondary school facility, junior college, community college, college, or university facility
  
• School, college, or professional athletic event not related to firearms
  
• Any courthouse
  
• Police, sheriff, or highway patrol station
  
• Any detention facility, prison, or jail
  
• Polling place
  
• Any place of nuisance – defined as any place where lewdness or prostitution is conducted or permitted or where controlled substances are unlawfully used, possessed, sold, or delivered more than once
  
• Meeting of a government or legislative body
  
• Church or place of worship, except for a church’s authorized armed security team
  
• Premises where a sign is posted stating that carrying of a pistol or revolver is prohibited
  
• Day use areas, campgrounds, and other developed recreational lands on Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA Property)
  
• Any portion of an establishment licensed to dispense alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises that is primarily devoted to dispensing alcoholic beverages
  
• A parade or demonstration for which a permit is required to carry a stun gun, concealed pistol, or revolver
  
• The passenger terminal of any airport, except if the firearm is encased for shipment
  
• The following areas of municipalities designated as off-limits and are only accessible to those with enhanced permits:
  
  • Public parks, public meetings of a county, municipality, or other governmental body
  • Political rallies, parades, or official political meetings
    
• Any place where the carrying of firearms is prohibited by federal law or state law or regulation

With an Enhanced Firearm Permit:

• Educational property (one section of state law says an enhanced permit holder can carry on school, community college, or university property while another says it’s illegal. A state Attorney General’s opinion from 2012 says campus carry is allowed for enhanced permit holders)
  
• Police, sheriff, or highway patrol station
  
• Any detention facility, prison, or jail
  
• Courtrooms during a judicial proceeding
  
• Per a ruling by the 1st Circuit Court, as of March 14, 2019, guns will be prohibited in courthouses in the 1st circuit counties of Alcorn, Itawamba, Lee, Monroe, Pontotoc, Prentiss and Tishomingo
  
• Any place of nuisance – defined as any place where lewdness or prostitution is conducted or permitted or where controlled substances are unlawfully used, possessed, sold, or delivered more than once
  
• Secured areas of airports
  
• Any place where the carrying of firearms is prohibited by federal law or state law or regulation
  
• Premises where a sign is posted stating that carrying of a pistol or revolver is prohibited (although not a violation of the concealed weapon statute, this may constitute trespassing)
  
• The following areas in state municipalities that are designated as off-limits and prohibit all license holders from carrying weapons:
  • Public parks, public meetings of a county, municipality, or other governmental body
  • Political rallies, parades, or official political meetings
  • Non-firearm-related school, college, or professional athletic events
    
• Any place where the carrying of firearms is prohibited by federal law or state law or regulation

In Mississippi, guns can be taken in a dispensary, as long as the dispensary doesn’t prohibit it.

Can You Consume CBD and Own a Gun in Mississippi?

The Controlled Substances Act no longer considers hemp with less than 0.3% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) to be the same as marijuana, thanks to the 2018 United States Farm Bill.

All US states are permitted by federal law to cultivate industrial hemp and sell goods produced from it, including CBD oil.

Mississippi is well-known for its strict marijuana laws. In fact, the state has no recreational marijuana and only legalized medicinal cannabis in 2022.

However, the state government established an exemption in 2014 and passed Harper Grace’s Law (House Bill 1231) which legalized CBD for the treatment of seizures in people with epilepsy.

The legislation permitted cannabis oil or products containing at least 15% CBD and no more than 0.5% THC to be used by those with certain medical ailments.

Mississippi’s regulations were modified to comply with the legislation after CBD produced from hemp was made legal on a federal level.

On July 1, 2019, House Bill 1547 was passed and made hemp-derived CBD legal and widely available, but there are still a number of limitations on its use.

The law states that hemp-derived CBD products sold in Mississippi must only contain a minimum of 50 mg of CBD per milliliter and a maximum of 2.5 mg of THC per milliliter.

So long as you keep track of how much CBD you consume, it’s legal to consume CBD and possess a gun.

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