This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

COLUMBUS, Miss. (AP) — A group petitioning to legalize medical marijuana in Mississippi says it needs about 28,700 more signatures to put the initiative on the November 2020 ballot.

Jamie Grantham is communications director for Medical Marijuana 2020. She said organizers have gathered more than 86,000 signatures. That’s about two-thirds of what’s needed.

The Commercial Dispatch reports Grantham spoke to a civic club Tuesday in Columbus.

She said the state Department of Health would regulate every facet of the program, including overseeing treatment centers where products would be sold. She says only Mississippi licensed physicians could prescribe marijuana products to people with “debilitating medical conditions.”

Mississippi Public Safety Commissioner Marshall Fisher has said he opposes easing marijuana laws because of concerns the drug could be abused. He was a longtime narcotics agent.