Jessica Rice, the executive director of the Mississippi Cannabis Trade Association, talks with Mississippi Today's Adam Ganucheau and Geoff Pender about the potential economic impact of a medical marijuana program in the state.

"Mississippians get their education here and then take that knowledge somewhere else where they have better opportunities, better jobs, and higher wages. They’re investing in other communities versus staying in Mississippi because there just aren’t a lot of opportunities. That was something that the cannabis industry could have brought to the state. It could have also given patients another avenue for relief."

The Mississippi Cannabis Trade Association believes cannabis could revolutionize Mississippi’s economy and the state’s prisons, which are too often overcrowded, said Jessica Rice, executive director of the MSCTA.

This will be the Company's first location in the state of Mississippi, with 40,000 square feet of warehouse and showroom space, and will feature indoor vertical farming and controlled environment agriculture. Importantly, the opening of GrowGen's newest location will coincide with the implementation of Mississippi's new medical cannabis program, approved by voters in November.

Opponents of legalizing medical cannabis had the chance to argue against a voter-backed ballot initiative in the Mississippi Supreme Court this week.

The saga of medical cannabis in Mississippi just won’t end, but we’re one step closer to knowing the fate of the state’s voter-approved medical cannabis provision, Initiative 65.

A large number of early registrants underscores the potential economic boost from marijuana legalization after Mississippi voters overwhelmingly approved Initiative 65 in November.

“The legislature already tried to give the people a legislator-created alternative to Initiative 65. And the people said that they don’t want it. Why keep trying to force [Mississippians] into something that they’ve already told you they do not want? Like you’re not listening to them at all,”