GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) – Starting June 1, patients can submit their applications for a medical marijuana card in Mississippi.
The process can be complicated, so a company has set up shop in the state to help South Mississippi patients navigate the procedure.
Just as a CPA can help you with your tax return, “Ride to Wellness” can help you with your medical marijuana card.
“We give you an all-in-one service where we not only walk you through from the time your start, but until you get your card,” said owner Kevin Webster.
The program started five years ago in Oklahoma.
“The first month in Oklahoma, we did almost 10,000 patients,” Webster added.
The application process is the patient’s responsibility, but it requires a physician’s approval.
Just like in Oklahoma, there could be an initial lack of interest from physicians to get certification from the state. Despite that, Webster believes Mississippi has a better plan for practitioners.
“In Mississippi, it could be a physician’s assistant, it could be a nurse practitioner, it could be an optometrist, or M.D. or D.O.,” he said.
Even if medical practitioners are at a minimum, Webster said his group will provide a state-certified medical doctor as part of its service.
“We get you with the doctor – your visit with him,” he said. “We help you with all your paperwork, all your photos and try to limit any issues that you might have.”
The organization will have a presence in Mississippi for a while.
Although applications for both patients and practitioners won’t start until June 1, Ride to Wellness is offering to pre-register applicants during the patient drive from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and Monday at the SpringHill Suites by Marriott in Gulfport.
“They will have a specific date that they will go and visit the doctor,” Webster said. “And, at that point, we will have actually submitted their application that day as well.”
Employee Lakeisha Noble is personally motivated to make this happen.
“I had a grandmother that was taking a lot of opioids,” she said. “And, so, medical marijuana helped a lot. And so, it helps gets the patients off the opioids. That’s our goal.”
The service costs $199 a person, but for the patient drive, it will be $150.
For more information, you can call 228-900-2069 or go to the company’s website: ridetowellness.com.
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