JACKSON, Miss. – More than 80% of Mississippi voters support allowing doctors to recommend medical marijuana to patients with debilitating conditions, according to a recent telephone survey. FM3 Research conducted the poll of 600 likely November 2020 general election voters and determined that Mississippians strongly favor permitting access to medical marijuana through INITIATIVE 65. 

“In principle, four in five (81%) Mississippi voters support doctors being able to recommend medical marijuana to patients with medical conditions and serious illnesses,” wrote the pollsters in a key findings memo, “and more than two-thirds (68%) do so strongly.” The study found that 76% of Mississippi Republicans and 68% of frequent churchgoers support the medical marijuana measure. 

The question of whether to establish a medical marijuana program in Mississippi will appear on the November 3^rd general election ballot. Voters will be faced with a two-part question, where they will be asked to choose between two competing measures. Voters will first have the option to select “yes” to approve either measure for a medical marijuana program in Mississippi or “no” to oppose both measures. Voters will then have the option to choose between INITIATIVE 65, put on the ballot by the people through the initiative process, or Alternative 65A, placed on the ballot by politicians.

Fully 75% of Mississippians surveyed reported they will vote “yes” to establish a medical marijuana program in the state. By a whopping 29-point margin, voters prefer INITIATIVE 65 (52%), which was placed on the ballot with the signatures of 228,000 Mississippians, over Alternative 65A (23%), which was placed on the ballot by the state Legislature only after INITIATIVE 65 qualified.

“In summary, INITIATIVE 65 stands a strong chance of passage in November 2020 in Mississippi,” the study concluded. “There is substantial support for medical marijuana in principle, and voters clearly distinguish between INITIATIVE 65 and Alternative 65A.”

Thirty-four states currently have medical marijuana programs and more than 3.5 million patients are successfully using medical marijuana to treat debilitating conditions such as cancer, epilepsy, and PTSD.

INITIATIVE 65 is supported by a steering committee of more than 70 medical and health care professionals, leaders of disease groups, law enforcement representatives, leaders in the faith community, and veterans. INITIATIVE 65 includes a program start date and a specific list of 22 qualifying debilitating medical conditions, while Alternative 65A leaves it to politicians to decide who would qualify and when, if ever, they would establish a program and how it would function. 

To learn more about INITIATIVE 65 and the differences in the two measures, visit www.medicalmarijuana2020.com.

About Medical Marijuana 2020

Medical Marijuana 2020 is a campaign to make medical marijuana available to Mississippians who suffer from debilitating medical conditions through INITIATIVE 65. More than 228,000 Mississippians signed petitions to put INITIATIVE 65 on the November 2020 ballot. INITIATIVE 65 would give physicians the option to certify the use of medical marijuana for their patients who suffer from one or more of the qualifying debilitating medical conditions listed in the initiative and then allow those patients to obtain medical marijuana in a legal and safe manner from treatment centers licensed and regulated by the Mississippi Department of Health. The campaign is backed by a steering committee of medical and health care professionals, law enforcement representatives, leaders in the faith community, and veterans.