A new ballot initiative petition seeking to decriminalize cannabis in the state has spread to Lincoln County.

Red Sides, Lincoln County liaison for Team Legalize, has been seen around town bringing attention to the issue.

Ballot Initiative 48 seeks to legalize marijuana, which is an currently an illegal substance in Mississippi. When found in someone’s possession, it can land them with a fine from $100 to $1,000,000, and jail time from five days to 30 years depending on the amount of the drug found on the person’s possession.

The ballot title read “Should the use, cultivation and sale” of cannabis and industrial hemp be legalized for persons 21 years or older?

The ballot summary goes as follows “Initiative Measure No. 48 would legalize the use, cultivation, sale of cannabis and industrial hemp. Cannabis related crimes would be punished in a manner similar to, or to a lesser degree, than alcohol related crimes. Cannabis sales would be taxed 7 percent. Cannabis sold for medical purposes and industrial hemp would be exempt from taxation. The governor would also be required to pardon persons convicted of non-violent cannabis crimes against the State of Mississippi.”

Team Legalize is an organization founded and is sponsored by a woman from Hernando, Kelly Jacobs, and involves more than 900 volunteers across the state who are collecting signatures and passing them in to their Circuit Clerks.

Both Jacobs and Sides point out the agricultural benefits of growing cannabis.

“For Mississippi Farmers, it would be a bonanza,” Jacobs said.

Overall, Sides sees the legalization as being beneficial all around.

“We can grow it, regulate and tax it. It’s a win-win situation,” Sides said.

He spoke about growing marijuana as well as industrial hemp, which is a plant that has no THC in it and is used to create things like oil, wax, cloth and paper but is illegal to grow in the Mississippi because it is too closely related to the cannabis family of plants.

Sides who identifies as a veteran, father, grandfather and Baptist said he still supports the ballot initiative and if more people would educate themselves, dismiss their stereotype of marijuana users and get more knowledgeable about hemp, there would be more support for the initiative.

Jacobs said volunteers for Team Legalize are from many walks of life from the up high, open about their support of marijuana, and down low, more undercover about their involvement with the initiative. These people include people who use the drugs and those that don’t.

“I’m 55 years old. I’ve never smoked marijuana, and I don’t want to smoke marijuana,” Jacobs said mirroring the sentiment of many of the volunteers who work as part of her organization, Team Legalize.

Jacobs is a member of the Mississippi Democratic party and in an effort to figure out a way to get more young people registered to vote wanted to push for a ballot initiative that would interest young voters.

“I’ve never been asked so many questions about voting,” Jacobs said before recounting a story about how on a community college campus everyone wanted to sign the petition but most weren’t registered to vote.

“It’s grassroots at its basis,” Jacobs said when describing how the ballot initiative came to be an actuality. “I initially suggested it, and nobody did anything, but then I started a Facebook page and started with the Colorado ballot initiative to draft one to be used in the state.”

After 47 unsatisfying drafts Jacobs realized she wouldn’t be able to just transplant an initiative from another state into the social and cultural climate that is Mississippi’s and decided to start from scratch.

With a shiny new ballot initiative, she and her colleagues were able to get the initiative approved by the Mississippi Secretary of State on Dec. 29, 2014. This gives the group one year to get the required minimum of 107,216 signatures or a minimum of 21,443 certified signatures from each of Mississippi’s five congressional districts.

“It’s nothing illegal to sign this and support this,” Side said. “We’re starting to get some influential people behind this.”

Sides is referring to Morgan Freeman, a Mississippi native and James Evers, brother of slain civil rights activist Medgar Evers and Owner of WMPR 90.1 FM in Jackson.

“Why do we want to outlaw something that helps people,” Sides said refereeing to the medicinal uses of marijuana. He said he uses the plant himself.

“It helps me with my aches and pains and costs less that going to the doctor and getting Loratab or Oxycotin, which is much worse,” Sides said.

Sides said he’s been busted and arrested for possession of marijuana since he moved to the area a little over three years ago, but that won’t force him to stop his consumption of the drug.

“I’ll keep getting busted until it gets legal,” Side said. “You’d be surprised at the amount of people like me, vets, who use marijuana.”

Jacobs said it is important that people look at the legalization of marijuana not as a recreational issue but more of a health focused issue regarding the amount of people who use it as such to bypass the effects of more harmful medications prescribed by doctors.

Sides said petitions can be found at The G Store on 722 South 1st Street, the liquor store near the store, Ward’s Diner and T.J.’s Restaurant in Bogue Chitto.

Jacobs said interested people can download the petition and download the voter registration form from the petition’s website, www.yesonproposition48.org.