Mississippi marijuana proposal hits snag over public notice

By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS
Associated Press

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – The Mississippi secretary of state says signature gathering will be delayed for a broad-based marijuana legalization proposal because of an error in notifying the public.

Initiative 77 would legalize cultivation, possession and use of marijuana in Mississippi. It would replace Initiative 65, the medical marijuana ballot measure that voters approved in November.

A notice about the summary and ballot title was published in some – but not all – of the required newspapers because of an error by the Mississippi Press Association and Press Services.

The secretary of state says the one-year timeline for gathering signatures will start after publication in five additional newspapers.