Supporters of marijuana legalization in Mississippi are making two broad arguments in hopes at least one of them will win over voters. One is about social justice. The other -- and the one many volunteers along the Coast are focusing on -- is money.
More than 800 volunteers, and counting, have fanned out across Mississippi armed with petitions and passion. If they can get more than 107,000 signatures -- or more than 21,000 from each of Mississippi's five districts -- marijuana legalization will be on the 2016 ballot. If voters decide in favor of the referendum, Mississippi could go further in legalizing marijuana than any state to date.
"A lot of people are motivated because bad things have happened to their families because of cannabis laws," said Kelly Jacobs, a longtime state Democratic operative who is sponsoring the initiative.
