Mississippi
Mississippi Regulators Place Hold On ‘Large Number Of’ Medical Marijuana After Receiving Anonymous Call
![Mississippi Regulators Place Hold On ‘Large Number Of’ Medical Marijuana After Receiving Anonymous Call Mississippi Regulators Place Hold On ‘Large Number Of’ Medical Marijuana After Receiving Anonymous Call](https://www.marijuanamoment.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/marijuana-scale-lab-test-e1610659399215-1000x600.jpg)
“It may cause some dispensaries to actually shut down. It’s going to cause them to lose several weeks of sales.”
By Heather Harrison, Mississippi Free Press
After an anonymous phone call alleged that Rapid Analytics cannabis testing lab was not conducting the proper procedure for pesticides, the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) placed an administrative hold on all medical cannabis products that underwent testing at the Natchez, Mississippi-based facility, lab spokesperson Mamie Henry said.
“They have no basis for anything, except an anonymous call, which has shut the entire industry down pretty much because we do 70 percent of the testing for the state,” Henry told the Mississippi Free Press on Thursday.
Dispensaries cannot sell any cannabis that Rapid Analytics tested until MSDH provides further instruction.
“Dispensaries have been notified by the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Program of the products that can’t be sold while the hold and retesting takes place. No Dispensaries have been asked to close and it is not all products [that are on hold],” a statement emailed to the Mississippi Free Press on Friday said.
Wednesday morning, MSDH emailed Rapid Analytics to tell them about the anonymous tip, and both groups had an “emergency Zoom meeting” to review the lab’s procedures and cannabis-testing reports from the past couple of months, Henry said.
Mississippi has two medical cannabis testing labs: Rapid Analytics and Steep Hill Mississippi in Jackson, Mississippi. All cannabis that Steep Hill has tested is still considered safe for patients to consume.
Cultivators, or cannabis growers, must send their products to at least one of the testing labs before they can sell the medical cannabis to dispensaries. Some cultivators choose to send their products to both companies for testing, like 74 Suns in Canton, Mississippi, consultant Hardy Case said. All of 74 Suns’s medical cannabis is still good to sell and will be on dispensary shelves since Steep Hill approved the products, he added.
“The dispensaries, a lot of them right now, have products on their shelves that have already been tested and passed, but now because of the administrative hold, they can’t sell it,” Case told the Mississippi Free Press on December 21. “It’s just sitting there, even though that product may be perfectly fine.”
Henry assured patients, cultivators and dispensary owners that the lab is “dealing with it very, very, very rapidly” and “very professionally to ensure that the state opens up as quickly as possible.” Rapid Analytics is retesting all cannabis samples, even though MSDH does not require them to do extra analysis, she added.
“We are the most respected and most used lab in the entire state, and so I don’t know who would make this ‘anonymous’ call,” Henry said.
‘Nightmare Scenario’
Getting into the Mississippi medical cannabis industry is an expensive, difficult process, and having issues from one of the state’s two testing labs can be detrimental to patients and small dispensaries, Case said.
“We’ve had so many hurdles to jump through as a state and as an industry as a whole in Mississippi, so it’s just really disappointing that whatever happened with Rapid Analytics wasn’t handled immediately and rectified so the patients wouldn’t basically be hit with a huge shortage,” he said.
Dispensaries and cultivators are waiting for MSDH to give guidance on how to retest or discard medical cannabis products from Rapid Analytics. Henry said the lab has sent verification of its protocols to MSDH.
“We’d all love to have it rectified by tomorrow, but it’s unfortunately now out of our hands,” she said on Thursday. “But we have provided everything to the state to prove that everything we’re doing is correct.”
Having product delays or recalls is never optimal, but Case said the improper-protocol claims could not have come at a worse time of year. Henry said the complaint seemed to be “strategically timed” with Christmas on Monday.
Since the holidays are approaching, Case said patients who are trying to stock up on cannabis might have trouble finding what they need at their local dispensaries because of the lab’s recall.
“It’s really kind of a nightmare scenario for many dispensaries and patients too because there are lots of patients, and most people in Mississippi…live in rural areas, so if you’re in an area where [dispensaries] are scarce, then they’re shut down, then that’s going to cause people to drive a lot more,” he said, adding that many patients who use medical cannabis cannot drive at all.
Unfortunately, Case said, some cultivators and dispensaries may suffer permanently because of the product hold.
“I’ve talked to one of my employees this morning, he went to a dispensary locally, and they didn’t have any product,” he said on Thursday. “It may cause some dispensaries to actually shut down. It’s going to cause them to lose several weeks of sales.”
Case also moderates the We Are the 74 Facebook page, a group where medical cannabis patients, supporters, investors, dispensary owners, cultivators and testing lab employees share information about the program. Dispensary owners and cultivators have been posting whether they are open and their hours of operation.
The Mississippi Medical Cannabis Program issued a statement on December 21 informing patients of the medical cannabis product hold.
“To protect the health and safety of medical cannabis patients, an administrative hold has been placed on a large number of medical cannabis products until retesting can be conducted to ensure the various products meet regulatory standards,” it says. “The Mississippi Medical Cannabis Program is taking swift action to address the situation, with retesting being done as quickly as possible.”
Heather Harrison is a reporter for the Mississippi Free Press, where this article was originally published. Read the article at https://mississippifreepress.org.
Biden Expands Marijuana Pardons With New Proclamation Covering Offenses On Federal Properties
Photo courtesy of National Institute of Standards and Technology.
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Mississippi
Vote for Mississippi boys high school athlete of the week Sept. 2-7
There were several top performers across the state in boys high school sports, but only one can be voted athlete of the week for Sept. 2-7.
Fans may vote in the poll BELOW one time per hour per device. The poll closes at noon on Friday.
To nominate a future athlete of the week, email mchavez@gannett.com or message him on X, formerly Twitter @MikeSChavez.
To submit high school scores, statistics, records, leaders and other items at any time, email mchavez@gannett.com.
Nominations
Kendetryon Backstrom, Kemper County: Backstrom had 247 passing yards, going 13-of-16 on completions for with two touchdowns and had six carries for 45 yards and three touchdowns in Kemper County’s 46-8 win over Noxapater.
Ronde Baker, Terry: Baker produced 171 rushing yards on 12 carries with four touchdowns in Terry’s 57-6 win over Pure Academy.
Wyatt Bond, Lamar School: Bond recorded 320 passing yards, going 24-of-37 with three touchdowns, and had 43 rushing yards and two touchdowns in Lamar’s 35-34 loss to Winston Academy.
Coby King, Greene County: King was 24-of-35 passing for 418 yards with a touchdown and had 11 carries for 137 rushing yards with four touchdowns in Greene County’s 51-36 loss to George County.
Tray Kinkle, Holly Springs: Kinkle produced 10 carries for 300 yards and four touchdowns in Holly Springs’ 33-0 win over Byers.
Tyshun Willis, Velma Jackson: Willis had 15 carries for 203 rushing yards with a touchdown, four receptions with 59 receiving yards, and a touchdown. On defense, he recorded four sacks, 8.5 tackles and three tackles for loss in Velma Jackson’s 24-22 win over Yazoo County.
Michael Chavez covers high school sports, among others, for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at mchavez@gannett.com or reach out to him on X, formerly Twitter @MikeSChavez.
Mississippi
Mississippi woman killed in two-vehicle crash in Grenada County
GRENADA COUNTY, Miss. (WJTV) – A Mississippi woman was killed during a two-vehicle crash in Grenada County.
Officials with the Mississippi Highway Patrol (MHP) said the crash occurred on Highway 7 just after 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 7.
Mississippi woman killed in head-on crash in Louisiana
According to MHP, a 2002 Toyota Sequoia was traveling north on the highway when the vehicle collided with a Mercedes van that was also traveling north.
The driver of the Mercedes, 53-year-old Loretta Hopkins, of Winona, died at the scene.
This crash remains under investigation by MHP.
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Mississippi
Mississippi State’s Loss Doesn’t Stop SEC from Owning Week Two in AP Top 25
![Mississippi State’s Loss Doesn’t Stop SEC from Owning Week Two in AP Top 25 Mississippi State’s Loss Doesn’t Stop SEC from Owning Week Two in AP Top 25](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_2748,h_1545,x_411,y_0/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/cowbell_corner/01j79mrpwsvvqcvrr5dh.jpg)
Outside of Mississippi State, Arkansas and Auburn, the SEC had a very successful Week Two of the college football season. The latest AP Top 25 poll reflects the strength of the SEC with 6 of the top 7 spots belonging to SEC teams.
Here’s a recap of how the ranked SEC teams fared in the second full week of the college football season:
Click here for a recap of the unranked SEC teams.
With the exception of giving up three points, this was probably exactly how Georgia expected this game to go. Carson Beck threw five touchdowns and the defense held Tennessee Tech to less than 150 yards of total offense. Anything less would be a surprise.
More than 100,000 people saw Texas come into Ann Arbor, Mich. and leave with a huge win. The Longhorns looked like the better team from the first drive of the game where they easily marched down the field. That Oct. 19 game in Austin against Georgia is looking better and better.
It was a lot closer than Alabama would’ve liked, but it’s a win that will fend off the “Nick Saban is gone, we’re doomed” crowd. At the same time, though, there were some things that crowd could point to at a later time.
Two games against inferior competition and Ole Miss has outscored its opponents 129-3. They’ll take a slight step up in competition next week against Wake Forest, but the Rebels are still about a month away from playing a team that will truly test them.
Missouri’s schedule just took an unexpected bump in its level of difficulty with No. 24 Boston College joining the top 25. Bill O’Brien is brilliant at game planning and calling plays (not so much with making trades, but that hasn’t reached the college ranks yet). Missouri needs to be on upset alert (and ready to stop the run).
This happens every year. Tennessee looks really good to start the season and by the end Volunteer fans are saying next year is their year. But maybe this year is their year with the way Nico Iamaleava has been playing.
Of the two SEC newcomers, Texas is getting most of the attention which makes sense based on the current teams. But folks, don’t sleep on the Sooners. They ruined many of my own childhood memories growing up in Texas. This week’s way-too close game doesn’t help that argument, but think long term.
LSU was one of three SEC teams to play FCS schools after playing top 25 teams last week. The Tigers and Texas A&M both lost, while Georgia won. So, it’s not surprising to see each of them play FCS teams and neither were any of the results.
SEC Week 2 Power Rankings: Which Teams Are Contenders or Pretenders?
WATCH: Mississippi State’s Bowl Hopes Take a Hit with Arizona State Defeat
Mississippi State Crumbles in the Trenches: What Went Wrong Against Arizona State?
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