Court agrees with ban on medical marijuana advertising in Mississippi
JACKSON, ma’am. — JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Medical marijuana Mississippi businesses don’t have the right to advertise on billboards or other places because marijuana itself remains illegal under federal law, an appeals court says.
The owner of one medical marijuana dispensary argued that the First Amendment protects the right to advertise because Mississippi law allows the sale of cannabis products to people with debilitating medical conditions. The state passed its law in 2022.
A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the arguments about advertising on Friday. They cited the federal Controlled Substances Act, which has banned the production, distribution, dispensing and possession of marijuana since 1970.
Federal law applies in all states, and Mississippi “faces no constitutional obstacle in restricting commercial speech related to unlawful transactions,” the justices wrote.
An email seeking comment was sent to the attorney general’s office on Monday.
Clarence Cocroft II operates Tru Source Medical Cannabis in the northern Mississippi town of Olive Branch. He sued the state in 2023 to challenge its ban on advertising medical marijuana on billboards or in print, broadcast or social media or in mass email or text messages.
“Enforcing this ban makes it incredibly difficult for me to find potential customers and educate people about Mississippi’s medical marijuana program,” Cocroft said in a statement Monday. “I remain committed to continuing this fight so that my firm can be treated the same as any other legal firm in Mississippi.”
Cocroft is represented by the Institute for Justice, a nonprofit libertarian law firm. The company said Monday it is considering next steps in the lawsuit, including possibly asking the entire appeals court to reconsider the case or appealing to the Supreme Court.
“Mississippi cannot, on the one hand, create a full marketplace for the sale of medical marijuana and, on the other, rely on an unenforced federal law that prohibits buyers and sellers from discussing it,” said Ari Bargil, an attorney with the Institute for Justice.