Appeals court upholds Mississippi ban on medical marijuana ads

A Mississippi appeals court ruled that medical cannabis businesses in the state don’t have the right to advertise on billboards or other places because marijuana is still illegal under federal law.

A three-judge panel of the 5^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in its Friday ruling that the federal Controlled Substances Act – which prohibits the manufacture distribution, dispensing and possession of marijuana – applies in all states, and Mississippi “faces no constitutional obstacle to restricting commercial speech relating to unlawful transactions.”

Clarence Cocroft II, who operates Tru Source Medical Cannabis, in Olive Branch, Mississippi, sued the state in 2023 over the advertising ban.

But earlier this year, U.S. District Judge Michael P. Mills dismissed Cocroft’s suit. So, he appealed.

“Upholding this ban makes it incredibly difficult for me to find potential customers and to educate people about Mississippi’s medical marijuana program,” Cocroft said in a statement to the Associated Press on Monday.

“I remain committed to continuing this fight so my business can be treated the same as any other legal business in Mississippi.”

The Institute for Justice, which is representing Cocroft, said it is considering its next steps.

The nonprofit libertarian law firm said it might ask the entire appeals court to reconsider the case or appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Mississippi cannot on the one hand create an entire marketplace for the sale of medical marijuana, and on the other hand rely on an unenforced federal law to prohibit buyers and sellers from talking about it,” Institute for Justice attorney Ari Bargil told the AP.

Mississippi voters approved an MMJ program in November 2020, and sales began last year.