Mississippi: Home of Political Gaslighting
How A Medical Marijuana Ballot Initiative was doomed from its start, and the will of the people of Mississippi was thwarted.
Democracy in design is as simple as one, two, three. One, people vote; two, the votes are counted; three, majority rules.
However, as we’ve seen over practically the entirety of Uncle Sam’s lifespan, Democracy in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave is as simple as one, nine, seven, sledgehammer, billygoat.
The latest State Supreme Court decision in my home state of Mississippi added another throb to the ever-growing vein in my forehead. It regarded something called Initiative 65. If you live outside of the state, this may not be a phrase that registers, but here in the Hospitality State it has been the backbone of Beauty-Parlor-Talk for the entirety of last year (COVID aside).
Allow me to explain:
65 was a ballot initiative during the 2020 General Election that addressed one of the prime social needs for the last few decades: the legalization of medical marijuana. The initiative, years in the making, was one of many in the United States that sought to amend the state constitution and decriminalize prescription cannabis. However, the ballot featured a choice: 65 or 65a. The alternative Initiative 65a was basically a stricter version of the original bill. It limited the qualifications of recipients to those “in debilitating medical conditions”.
Anyhow, the original 65 won the election in a landslide 74%–26% vote. Over two thirds of voters gave what should have been final approval to the amendment.
That is…until Friday, May 14th, 2021 when it was, eh, smoked out. These are its killers.
First, there’s Mary Hawkins Butler, the mayor of Madison, MS who, a few days before the Nov. 3rd election, filed a supreme court challenge against 65. She deemed the initiative process “unconstitutional”. According to state bylaws, ballot initiatives are legitimate if signed by “the representatives of all five congressional districts”. Here’s the problem, we don’t have five…anymore.
Mississippi’s fifth congressional district was abolished in 2003 and, apparently, the provisions in the constitution regarding ballot initiatives were never updated. Therefore, Mayor Butler’s case, stating that 65 would not comply with the law if passed, was unfortunately valid.
That brings me to the Ultra-Conservative Mississippi Supreme Court. Friday, in a 6–3 ruling, 65 was deemed null and void for the very reasons Mayor Butler laid out. Thus, we have no medical marijuana and thousands of outraged citizens.
This process and its result brings to mind a question we should all be asking. Who really has the power? Over one million people said ‘yes’ to something and it took seven people’s ‘no’s’ to kill it. Seven people; all of whom are elected or confirmed officials. This is regardless of provisions or bylaws. As I mentioned, two thirds of the public were in favor of a constitutional amendment. In no time, during the days, weeks, or months leading up to the 2020 General Election was the public made aware, aside from one Mayor’s case, that said amendment was doomed to constitutional suicide.
There’s another bigger issue here, too. The Secretary of State (Michael Watson) is responsible for the amendment being on the ballot in the first place. It was he who, when all of the required signatures were collected, approved of its legitimacy and moved it ahead to be constructed as an initiative and an alternative initiative by the Attorney General (Lynn Fitch). So the question remains , how did they not know the provisions were flawed?
I have an answer: they did. There is absolutely no excuse to swearing an oath to the constitution and forgetting the rules in real time. They took advantage of the public and perverted the democratic process. This was an actual rigged election, and it exposes the suppression of civilian voice that has long lingered from the days of Reconstruction, Jim Crow, and the Summer of Freedom in Mississippi.
I don’t quite know what to call this endeavor: a game of political cat-and-mouse, a golden goose, or just straight up gaslighting. I do know this, though, the ramifications of tossing this flop amendment are going to be catastrophic. This was a subversion of the will of the people of Mississippi and it must not be ignored. I will refrain from going into the necessity of medical marijuana and how millions of people suffering mental ilnesses, pre-existing conditions, and other ailments will be left untreated from its natural power, instead I’m just plain damned mad at my state government.
Simultaneously occurring this week, a 38-year-old Black man named Russell Allen had his life sentence upheld by the very same court for being a “habitual offender”. Translation: he was arrested for possession of three grams of weed, thus he deserves a harsher sentence. While the rest of the country advances towards a total decriminalization of marijuana possession, Mississippi has chosen not to take even the first step forward. The tossing of Initiative 65 only affirms the tradition of any kind of weed-smoker as being a convicted felon in the making. Allen isn’t the only one facing this punishment. The Mississippi Clarion-Ledger reported last year that eighty-six “habitual offenders” (most of whom are Black) are facing life in prison without parole for marijuana offenses.
Owning a plant is a threat to your freedom in Mississippi. Apparently, so is the State Legislature who swore to uphold and promote the law. That oath doesn’t stop them from raising the biggest, most emphatic middle finger to their constituents. Once again, my state has shown they not only have no care for a majority of its citizens or their will, but they are complicit in political games with the people. By the way, I expect no statement from Governor Tate Reeves (R) on the issue, considering he has proven over the past year that he would rather be a talking head on Fox News than a legitimate leader.
These are the folks who continue to hold us behind. Right now, our state has the highest poverty rate, the 9th rank among marijuana offenses, and the 16th highest racially segregated in the US. On top of it all, the people don’t have a voice.
It’s about damn time we start speaking up for one another, because they won’t.
