Mississippi Medical Cannabis Program and 2023 Expectations

As we move the calendar forward to another year, and because we maintain a blog about cannabis laws, it seems fitting to write about the first year of Mississippi’s medical cannabis program and preview what 2023 may have in store when the program finally launches. And what better way to frame this article than to follow Charles Dickens’s famous project of A Christmas Song? The following Ebenezer Scrooge quote at the end of the classic novel certainly had nothing to do with Mississippi’s new cannabis program: “I will live in the past, present, and future. The Spirits of all Three will fight within me. I will not exclude the lessons they teach.” But the quote’s message undoubtedly applies.

Medical Cannabis’s Ghost of the Past

2022 quickly greeted Mississippi with something many who live in this state never thought possible – the legalization of (medical) marijuana. We’ve written many times about the state’s path to legalization (here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here). Needless to say, although the tracks weren’t necessarily flat, the train arrived at the station. Choo, Choo!

The enrollment portal opened in June for non-dispensary license applicants and in July for dispensary license applicants. The Mississippi Department of Health (MSDH) began issuing licenses in late June, and the first dispensary received its license from the Mississippi Department of Revenue (MSDOR) in late July. To say that these state agencies jumped into action and answered the bell is an understatement. Releasing comprehensive regulations, opening the application portal, processing hundreds of applications and issuing licenses in just four months after the law was signed was an incredible achievement. This hard work paid off. At the end of September, the state reported receiving nearly $6 million in licenses and application fees. Three months later, that number has certainly grown – and still no sales tax has been collected.

2022 has also shown us that interactions between license holders and the county or county in which those licensees intend to operate are not always amicable. While it appears that most licensees and local governments worked very well together, reports of challenges in this regard certainly circulated. However, and despite the dropouts, the state has issued licenses to cannabis establishments in nearly every corner of Mississippi.

Medical cannabis ghost present

So what does the medical cannabis program look like now, at the end of December 2022? Well, some predicted that patients would already be buying products by now. However, the latest predictions suggest this won’t happen until late January or February 2023. It appears the delay is largely due to none of the medical cannabis testing labs that hold licenses ready to start testing. But this is not for lack of trying and should give Mississippi some comfort. The process these labs must go through to receive final approval to test is very complex and labor intensive, particularly to obtain the necessary verifications of the test method.

The backlog of testing labs has a silver lining. More time is needed for eligible patients to follow the law and regulations and obtain a patient card. The most recent reports show that the total number of eligible patients currently holding patient cards is below 2,000. In comparison, the 2021 numbers had Arkansas with a patient count of 76,779, Connecticut with 54,000, Missouri with 136,000 and Oklahoma with 368,218. Yes, those states’ medical marijuana programs were much more mature in 2021 than Mississippi’s are today. But to say that patient numbers must increase for the Mississippi program to prosper – economically speaking – is an understatement.

As the number of patients increases, there should be no shortage of product or places to buy it. To date, licenses are held by 66 growers (including micro-growers), ten processors, six transport entities, four disposal entities, three test laboratories and 157 dispensaries. By all indications, Metrc, the seed-for-sale tracking system that Mississippi chose to use, is up and running and in good shape. Then, when the products are tested, pass those tests and reach the shelves of dispensaries, sales should start for good.

Ghost of the future of medical cannabis

With an eye on the program’s future, the MSDH released proposals in the week before Christmas for changes to its regulations governing medical cannabis businesses and patient/ID cards. We summarize these proposals here. Will the department approve proposed revisions to test lot sample sizes? Will the new definition of “cannabis waste” be adopted? Will licensees now be able to apply for permission not to follow all regulations through the proposed “variation” procedures? And will the proposed administrative hearing be in place as a necessary step for the aggrieved companies before proceeding with the lawsuit? The future will determine whether these and other proposed changes come to fruition.

Initially, 2023 should welcome Mississippi residents with dispensaries opening their doors and selling products to qualified patients in January or February. Early 2023 also removes the residency requirement for non-microprocessors and growers that originally required that at least 35% of the equity interests in these entities be owned by Mississippi residents. Does this mean Mississippi will be swamped by out-of-state multi-state carrier groups? Or will the high license and low patient count help maintain the status quo? Will Mississippi issue some kind of moratorium on permits?

We understand that MSDH and MDOR will provide the Mississippi executive and legislative branches with an annual report in accordance with the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act. We also know that the MMCA requires the Medical Cannabis Advisory Committee to meet and make recommendations to the legislature, MSDH, and MDOR regarding their evaluation of the medical cannabis program. These recommendations may involve issues of patient access, effectiveness of testing facilities, compliance safeguards, and potential additions or revisions to rules and regulations, such as “related to safety, safe handling, labeling, nomenclature, and whether additional types of licenses should be made available. .”

I haven’t even mentioned the potential federal reform that could impact the cannabis industry. And I won’t go into that space, because we’ve written about this extensively before (here, here, here, here, here, and here). Change is certainly expected, in some form or style. The extent of this change, however, is not yet fully known.

Another literary genius, who hails from the state of Magnolia and lived most of his life in the only county in the US, fictionally known as Yoknapatawpha, where federally legal marijuana was grown for decades, spoke about the impact of the past on the present and in the future. : “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” William Faulkner, like Dickens, was not talking about a legal cannabis program in his home state when he wrote these words in Requiem for a Nun. But they are a revealing lens through which to evaluate the program. We’re not fortune tellers and don’t have a crystal ball, but I’m confident that 2023 will be a fascinating year in the medical cannabis world here in Mississippi.