Mississippi Says Medical Marijuana Is Legal—Just Don’t Talk About It
Small-business owner Clarence Cocroft budgeted for advertising when he launched his company in DeSoto County, Mississippi. He even purchased billboards. But when the time came to announce his presence, state regulators silenced him.
Cocroft is prohibited from talking about his business on the radio or television or advertising in newspapers, the internet, or outdoors. He is only permitted to hang a sign on his property and have a website with basic information. The state is targeting Cocroft—who obtained all the proper business permits during a tedious startup process—because his industry is medical marijuana.
Mississippi lawmakers legalized medical marijuana in 2022. But at the same time, they empowered the state Department of Health to control advertising.
The extent of the ban was not immediately clear. The rules took shape as Cocroft worked to launch Tru Source Medical Cannabis, Mississippi’s first black-owned medical marijuana dispensary. By the time he opened his doors, the speech police were ready to pounce.
“I own this billboard,” Cocroft said during a 2023 interview, pointing to one of his highway signs. “But I cannot advertise because it is a medical marijuana business.”
Normally, when pot dispensaries face discrimination, the tension is due to an ongoing power struggle between federal and state governments. This began in 1996, when
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