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Some MS cannabis growers may not be able to turn a profit with new weed-testing regulations

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Some MS cannabis growers may not be able to turn a profit with new weed-testing regulations



State Health Officer offers further grace period for growers to catch up with new regulations

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Dozens of medical cannabis cultivators and other business owners voiced concerns Thursday at the State Capitol over the potential negative impact of new yeast and mold testing requirements for flower.

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During an advisory meeting with state health officials and legislators, small-size cultivators said they are being squeezed both by new testing regulations and methods, which is causing more failed sanitation tests, and by the fact that if they fail, there is currently no way to have the product retested if the batch is “cleansed”.

They said this could threaten some small cultivators’ livelihoods. According to figures from several sources, the new testing standard alone will likely cost smaller growers thousands either through retesting and pretests, cleansing or purchasing new equipment.

It is already a distressed industry, with 393 licensed Mississippi cannabis businesses, including dispensaries, cultivators and processors, serving 43,000 medically approved customers across the state, a tough ratio for these businesses.

“Some of the farmers are living from crop to crop… I think we’re pushing this a little too fast. I don’t have an issue with (the testing standard). I’m all for it, but I have an issue with we don’t have an accurate testing guideline to reach that number,” Phen Schlett, owner of Big River Cannabis, said, referring to how cultivators haven’t been given guidelines on how to reduce the number of yeast and mold cells in crops.

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According to figures provided by the Mississippi Medical Marijuana Association, cultivators and lab owners, it costs growers $500 to test one batch of flower at a testing facility. If it fails, the flower must be turned into oils or other distillates. That process cuts the crop’s value in half, Mississippi Medical Marijuana Association Executive Director Henry Crisler said. Growers can also appeal test results to the state for a possible retest.

During the meeting, several business owners expressed concern that the new standard will cause them to fail their tests, tanking profitability. Dekalb-based Alchemy Analytics, a testing lab, has already seen several failed tests, CEO Hatem Mourad told the Clarion Ledger.

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Perry Lewis, COO of Steep Hills, the only other operating lab in the state, said of the 24 batches of flower the lab has tested without any prior cleansing, seven passed and 17 failed. Five other batches were sent in pre-treated with radiation, and they all passed.

“It’s definitely a high percentage, and the other lab is quoting about the same or worse than we are,” Lewis said.

In January, the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Program implemented a new regulation requiring a limit to the amount of mold and yeast cells found within flower. To ensure businesses had enough time to adjust, there was a six-month grace period. More than 20 other states with cannabis programs already have this requirement.

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However, in December and January, nearly 75% of the industry’s product was recalled due to testing failures at Rapid Analytics. Lewis said it was difficult for Steep Hills and cultivators to catch up to the regulation as they were trying to retest products and recoup losses. Lewis said that situation continued until late June, when retesting stopped. The new regulations took effect July 29.

“It felt like a lot of people forgot where we were at the beginning of this year,” Lewis said, noting that Steep Hills took on a large portion of the industry’s testing when Rapid Analytics closed. “June was the first time we felt like we were in a position, when we were in a good turnaround point to prepare for the new regulation.”

State Health Officer Daniel Edney simply said that wasn’t an excuse, and that several mid to large-sized cultivators already cleanse their product.

“We lost six months of grace period, and I’m just challenged to know why there was no discussion about this in the last six months,” Edney said. “We could have taken care of all this over the grace period…I’m happy to extend it for a limited amount of time with a game plan. We want everybody to be able to comply in a reasonable way and not impact negatively their business.”

Read about PBMs in Mississippi Pharmacists, Pharmacy Benefit Managers, argue over high drug, business costs at hearing

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Edney also said the program plans to release guidelines in a few weeks on having failed product cleaned so it can be resent for compliance testing.

“We’ve even looked at what do we need to do at the state level to provide remediation access for the smaller cultivators,” Edney said. “We want to make this work where this is not the Department of Health trying to run people out of business.”

However, Crisler said he is unaware of any remediation businesses in Mississippi, and the cost for cultivators to acquire the equipment to conduct that cleaning is expensive. Some of that equipment can costs more than $200,000, one cannabis cultivator said during the meeting.

If growers were to pay a third party to conduct the testing, it would also cost nearly $200, and they would still have to spend the about $500 to retest for compliance, Crisler said. Labs can also conduct a research and development test of a small sample before a cultivator sends in a batch. Lewis said Steep Hills currently charges $110 for just a yeast and mold research and development test.

Edney said that while he understands the new testing standard is affecting smaller growers, they are necessary to keep the public safe, and that he is willing to work with cultivators to become compliant with the tests. He did not say when a new grace period would start or how long it would be.

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 Grant McLaughlin covers state government for the Clarion Ledger. He can be reached at gmclaughlin@gannett.com or 972-571-2335.



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Eight tornadoes confirmed in Louisiana and Mississippi from Post-Tropical Cyclone Arthur storms

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Eight tornadoes confirmed in Louisiana and Mississippi from Post-Tropical Cyclone Arthur storms


NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – The National Weather Service has confirmed eight tornadoes touched down across Louisiana and Mississippi on June 18th, 2026, with damage surveys revealing significant impacts to homes, businesses, and infrastructure.

The survey work continues on several areas, including Eden Isle, where meteorologists are analyzing whether additional weak tornadoes occurred within widespread wind damage.

The NWS has asked for patience as crews complete their analysis, with the next update expected Monday, June 22.

A busy morning of severe weather

The tornado activity began early Thursday morning around 2:49 a.m. and continued through the morning hours, with the last confirmed tornado occurring around 8:12 a.m.

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The storms primarily impacted the greater New Orleans area, including parts of Jefferson Parish, Orleans Parish, and St. Tammany Parish in Louisiana, as well as Hancock and Harrison counties in Mississippi.

The damage: eight confirmed tornadoes

Houma area hit hardest

Four of the eight confirmed tornadoes touched down in the Houma area, with a fourth nearby.

The most significant damage in Houma came from an EF-1 tornado that tracked through the city around 3:47 a.m., producing winds up to 95 mph.

This tornado damaged the Lynn Park Shopping Center, where nearly every window was damaged, and interior walls partially collapsed. Four homes sustained partial to significant roof loss, and one home had an exterior wall collapse.

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Another EF-1 tornado in the same area tossed a truck 30 feet and caused significant damage. Multiple trees were snapped and uprooted, with several homes sustaining partial roof loss, and at least one carport collapsed.

An EF-1 tornado causes significant roof damage to two homes on Crozier Drive, and at least one exterior wall collapsed on each.

An EF-0 tornado also impacted the McCord area of Houma, damaging trees, several homes, and electrical poles.

Long-track tornado from St. Tammany Parish to Mississippi

The most significant tornado of the day was an EF-1 that traveled 12.42 miles from Treasure Isle in St. Tammany Parish to rural Hancock County, Mississippi. With maximum winds of 105 mph and a width of up to 300 yards, this tornado caused extensive damage across its path.

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The tornado flipped a large boat near Treasure Isle and progressed northeast, removing shingles from homes and snapping trees along Bluegill Drive.

As it moved into Avery Estates, the tornado grew in size and strengthened, uprooting numerous trees along U.S. Highway 190 and damaging several outbuildings. A manufactured home had most of its roof removed and was shifted significantly off its foundation.

The tornado maintained strength as it moved over the Pearl River Basin before weakening as it approached Hancock County, where ground survey teams documented widespread tree damage on rural roads.

Additional tornadoes

An EF-1 tornado tracked 7.26 miles from Bridge City through New Orleans to the University of New Orleans area around 5:43 a.m., producing winds up to 95 mph. Damage was primarily tree damage and minor building damage across the city.

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A brief EF-1 tornado touched down north of Highway 90 in Avondale, injuring two people. The tornado tracked northeast with home damage and snapped tree branches. One home sustained damage when another mobile home rolled into it. The wind speeds were estimated to be 90 mph.

An EF-1 tornado also tracked across Hancock and Harrison counties in Mississippi, with widespread tree damage, including several large trees uprooted and snapped. Minor damage occurred to several properties along the 6.38-mile path.

No Fatalities Reported

Despite the significant damage from eight tornadoes, no fatalities were reported. However, two injuries were reported in the Avondale area.

All information in this report is preliminary and subject to change pending final review and publication in NWS Storm Data.

See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Click Here to report it. Please include the headline.

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Copyright 2026 WVUE. All rights reserved.



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Mississippi Lottery Mississippi Match 5, Cash 3 results for June 19, 2026

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Mississippi Lottery Mississippi Match 5, Cash 3 results for June 19, 2026


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The Mississippi Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at June 19, 2026, results for each game:

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Winning Mississippi Match 5 numbers from June 19 drawing

07-10-13-22-31

Check Mississippi Match 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash 3 numbers from June 19 drawing

Midday: 1-4-2, FB: 5

Evening: 5-5-4, FB: 9

Check Cash 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

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Winning Cash 4 numbers from June 19 drawing

Midday: 2-3-2-8, FB: 5

Evening: 9-2-8-4, FB: 9

Check Cash 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Cash Pop numbers from June 19 drawing

Midday: 05

Evening: 04

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Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Story continues below gallery.

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

Winnings of $599 or less can be claimed at any authorized Mississippi Lottery retailer.

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Prizes between $600 and $99,999, may be claimed at the Mississippi Lottery Headquarters or by mail. Mississippi Lottery Winner Claim form, proper identification (ID) and the original ticket must be provided for all claims of $600 or more. If mailing, send required documentation to:

Mississippi Lottery Corporation

P.O. Box 321462

Flowood, MS

39232

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If your prize is $100,000 or more, the claim must be made in person at the Mississippi Lottery headquarters. Please bring identification, such as a government-issued photo ID and a Social Security card to verify your identity. Winners of large prizes may also have the option of setting up electronic funds transfer (EFT) for direct deposits into a bank account.

Mississippi Lottery Headquarters

1080 River Oaks Drive, Bldg. B-100

Flowood, MS

39232

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Mississippi Lottery prizes must be claimed within 180 days of the drawing date. For detailed instructions and necessary forms, please visit the Mississippi Lottery claim page.

When are the Mississippi Lottery drawings held?

  • Cash 3: Daily at 2:30 p.m. (Midday) and 9:30 p.m. (Evening).
  • Cash 4: Daily at 2:30 p.m. (Midday) and 9:30 p.m. (Evening).
  • Match 5: Daily at 9:30 p.m. CT.
  • Cash Pop: Daily at 2:30 p.m. (Midday) and 9:30 p.m. (Evening).

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Mississippi editor. You can send feedback using this form.



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Police shooting of a 1-year-old Mississippi boy ignites tension between police and residents – WXXV News 25

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Police shooting of a 1-year-old Mississippi boy ignites tension between police and residents – WXXV News 25


JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The fatal shooting of a 1-year-old boy by police who were responding to a shoplifting call this week has ignited simmering tensions between police and Black residents in the small town of Senatobia, Mississippi.

The death of Kohen Wiley is the latest in a series of troubling encounters with police that have outraged community members in recent years. It has led to protests and calls for greater police accountability in the town of 8,000, with some civil rights activists pointing to Kohen’s death as another example of a Black life lost over something of nominal value — in this case, allegedly stolen diapers.

“We are treating items on a shelf as more valuable than a child,” Bernice King, the daughter of civil right icon Martin Luther King, Jr., said in a statement posted to Instagram on Wednesday. “That is not just bad policing; it is a moral collapse.”

Differing accounts of what happened

There are still many unanswered questions about the shooting and what led up to it.

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Senatobia police responded to the shoplifting call at a local Walmart on Sunday, where they found two women and a child leaving the store, getting into a car and driving away. According to a statement released by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation: “Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver drove in the direction of the officers, almost striking one. An officer then discharged their weapon and the vehicle fled the scene.”

Kohen’s mother, Vellesiya Wiley, said her son and her friend, who was driving, were hit by gunfire. In a video posted on social media Wednesday by civil rights attorney Ben Crump, Wiley said her friend was not driving toward the officers because they were “all on the right side and she was driving towards the left.”

She also disputes the shoplifting claim, saying in the video that she believes her friend paid for the diapers she was carrying.

Policing expert Ian Adams, who teaches criminal justice at the University of South Carolina, said regardless of the circumstances, the officer should not have fired at the car.

“Modern policing knows that shooting into a moving vehicle is a very bad idea and one to be avoided at almost all costs,′ Adams said. For one thing, ”vehicles have other occupants, which is obviously a concern here in the current case.”

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Shooting revives racial justice concerns

Kohen was Black, as are his mother and her friend, and the circumstances leading to Kohen’s death quickly drew comparisons to another Black mother shot during a response to a shoplifting accusation.

In 2023, Ta’Kiya Young, who was pregnant, was shot by police in a Columbus, Ohio, suburb, after they attempted to apprehend her. Police said Young, who was also the mother of two young sons, got into her car and accelerated in the direction of the officer who fired at her through the windshield. Both Young and her unborn daughter were killed.

The officer in that case was acquitted of criminal charges and found justified in his use of force by a review board.

The two deaths join a long list of other instances of Black Americans dying in interactions with police after accusations of petty criminal offenses. That list includes the murder of George Floyd in 2020, who was killed after police responded to a call that he used a fake $20 bill at a Minneapolis grocery store.

For some racial justice advocates, such cases serve as a constant reminder of the consequences of systemic racism in law enforcement.

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“In the name of ‘law and order,’ a child was killed and family was shattered over items that could be restocked, written off, and replaced,” King wrote on Instagram. “Our charge is clear: until the sacredness of human life is the starting point of every police encounter, we must demand changes in training and work unrelentingly to reform policies around police accountability.”

Tensions in Senatobia

Marquell Bridges, the president and founder of an advocacy group called the Building Bridges Coalition and who has been helping the Wiley family, said Kohen’s death was “just the breaking point” after years of problematic interactions between Black residents and police.

Bridges pointed to an encounter last year in which an officer threatened Breshari Faulkner with a Taser, pulled her from her car onto the ground and arrested her during a confrontation over a handicapped parking space in the same Walmart lot where Kohen was shot.

Two years earlier, in 2023, a Senatobia officer was fired for his role in arresting a 10-year-old Black boy who had urinated in a different parking lot. The boy’s family settled a federal lawsuit with the city earlier this year.

“There is a culture there that they are above the law – just because they wear a uniform,” said civil rights attorney Carlos Moore, who has represented the 10-year-old boy and others accusing the department of misconduct.

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Police did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press. The mayor and city aldermen also did not respond to messages.

About 40% of the city’s population of approximately 8,300 is Black, according to 2020 Census data. Police did not respond to questions about the racial makeup of the department, but the mayor and a majority of the Board of Alderman members are white. The city has elected only three Black aldermen since it became a municipality in 1860, according to the Tate Record, a local newspaper.

A toy lawnmower that blows bubbles

The officer who shot Kohen and the woman driving the car he was in has been placed on administrative leave, a standard practice, while the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation looks into what happened. They have promised to release video of the shooting once the investigation is complete.

Kohen’s grandmother, Veronica Roberson, was there when Kohen was born and babysat him often. She described him as a happy little baby with “the prettiest smile you could ever imagine.”

She said he was a sweet child and: “He just loved on me, and I loved on him. We loved each other.”

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One of his favorite toys was a little lawnmower that would blow bubbles when pushed. Roberson would sit outside with him while he played with it. “He really thought he was mowing my yard,” she said, laughing a little at the memory. “That baby was my world.”





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