In the days after the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act passed, I received several texts, emails and phone calls from people excited for Mississippi. But after a few days, people began to wonder: What exactly passed in this bill?
Here’s a breakdown:
First, if you are a patient with one of the 28 enumerate debilitating medical conditions (found on the Mississippi Department of Health’s marijuana page), once cannabis is fully grown and tested in the state, you can purchase it with a medical marijuana card. With a card, a patient can buy six units of 3.5 grams per week and no more than 24 units of 3.5 grams per month. This equates to roughly 3 ounces of marijuana per month.
Second, the bill allows for physicians, certified nurse practitioners, physician assistants and optometrists to certify patients with debilitating conditions. Those practitioners will be required to take 8 hours of continuing medical education credits before starting to issue patient certifications. Patients between the ages of 18 and 25 will need certifications from two practitioners, one of whom is a physician or a doctor of osteopathic medicine. For minors, certifications can only be written by physicians or doctors of osteopathic medicine and with consent from a parent or guardian.
Third, seven license types will be available for businesses: cultivation, processing, dispensary, transportation, disposal, testing, and research. Businesses can have no more than one cultivation, one processing, and five dispensaries. The state will not put a limit on the number of licenses it issues. There are two sub-tiers of “micro cultivator”and “micro processor” licenses carved out for smaller, completely Mississippi-owned businesses.
Fourth, smokable, tincture, edible, topical, and other forms of products will be available for purchase by patients with cards. Mississippi will have THC potency caps. In raw flower, THC can be no more than 30%. In extracted materials, tinctures, vape cartridges, edibles, etc., THC can be no more than 60%. All products, from seed to sale, must be grown, manufactured, tested, and tracked in Mississippi.
So now what?
By June 2, the Department of Health will create rules and regulations that govern all license types, except dispensaries. The Department of Revenue will put forth similar requirements for dispensaries by July 2. Both departments have to issue their respective licenses after 30 days of receiving an application. Municipalities and counties have until May 3 to announce and vote should they want to opt out.
Once seeds go into the ground in early July, it will take 4-6 months for the marijuana to be fully grown, dried, processed, and tested. Many businesses anticipate by December, patients will be able to purchase medical marijuana.
This is a lot of information, but it boils down to this: Mississippi has a medical marijuana program with clear guidelines for patients, doctors, and businesses. Patients in need of relief will begin to see businesses open up across the state and prepare quality and safe products for everyday use, ideally by the end of this year.
Ken Newburger is the executive director for the Mississippi Medical Marijuana Association.