Mississippi AG Says Intoxicating Hemp Products Are ‘Prohibited’ Under State Law

In a letter to Mississippi state Rep. Lee Yancey (R), Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch (R) said intoxicating hemp-derived products are “prohibited” under the state’s Controlled Substances Law. However, Fitch declined to offer an “official opinion” on whether the products could be possessed in the state due to federal law, which allows hemp cultivation. 

“Except for products possessed in strict accordance with the provisions of the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act, the possession – with intent to sell, barter, transfer, manufacture, distribute or dispense – of a product derived from the hemp plant designed for human ingestion and/or consumption that is not approved by the United States FDA is prohibited under Mississippi’s Uniform Controlled Substances Law.” — Fitch in the letter 

Yancey had asked Fitch for clarification on state law as it relates to the sale of hemp-derived products “designed for human ingestion and/or consumption” outside of the Mississippi medical cannabis program.  

“Mississippi law does not specifically address the possession or sale of products derived from the hemp plant designed for human ingestion and/or consumption,” Fitch wrote. “However, as implied by your questions, the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act … allows for the sale and possession of medical cannabis products, including edible cannabis products.” 

Mississippi allows hemp cultivation, although, according to the state Department of Agriculture and Commerce, “the necessary funding to implement the program was not appropriated by the Mississippi Legislature” and the federal Department of Agriculture is in charge of licensing hemp cultivators.

Yancey had sponsored a bill to ban intoxicating hemp products during this term’s session, but the legislation was never taken up by lawmakers and died when the legislature adjourned in April.