Mississippi celebrates the start of medicinal cannabis sales

Some pharmacies in Mississippi were ready to open to customers on January 25. Melvin C. Robinson, executive director of the Mississippi Trade Association, stood outside one of the state’s licensed dispensaries, The Cannabis Company, to greet customers. “Today is a very exciting day. History was made in Brookhaven,” said Robinson.

Brookhaven-based The Cannabis Company’s first customer was Debbie McDermott. “I suffer from chronic pain and I have some other issues,” she said of becoming a medical cannabis cardholder. The pharmacy experienced a setback due to problems with the METRC checkout system, resulting in a two-and-a-half hour delay before McDermott was able to purchase her medication.

Cannabis Company co-owner Le Anne Penn told The Daily Leader that she changed careers to get into the cannabis industry. “It was a fun trip. I enjoyed it. The business will be different than what I’ve done before,” Penn said. “I was a bodywork technician for 40 years. I decided to do this because I saw the potential in the industry and the need among the people. Hopefully this will help people who need it or who cannot take opioids or other medications.”

Other news outlets reported that pharmacies also sold out on January 25, with more expecting to get their supplies over the weekend.

According to Ken Newburger, Executive Director of the Mississippi Medical Marijuana Association, this program has been a long time coming. “We’ve been working to get medical marijuana into the hands of patients in Mississippi since 2018, and it’s surreal to see it finally come to fruition,” Newburger said. “That’s just the beginning. More and more companies will be harvesting, testing and putting their products on the shelves in the coming months; As a result, more patients will have access to this drug at certified facilities across the state.”

Medical cannabis cardholders can purchase up to 3.5 grams per day, six days per week, or a total of 3 ounces per month. Currently, the state allows patients to use medicinal cannabis if they have any of the approved qualifying conditions. These include a total of 20 diseases such as cancer, Parkinson’s disease, glaucoma, Crohn’s disease, autism and muscular dystrophy. In addition, six other conditions and symptoms qualify, including wasting syndrome, severe or persistent nausea, seizures, and severe and persistent muscle spasms such as those seen in multiple sclerosis.

Voters originally approved medicinal cannabis during the November 2020 election with Initiative 65. In April 2021, the Mississippi Supreme Court allowed opponents of legalizing medicinal cannabis to challenge the voting results, leading to the court striking down Initiative 65 in May and stated that it was constitutionally flawed. Lawmakers debated medicinal cannabis throughout the year and in September took a step to re-implement a plan to legalize medicinal cannabis.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves delayed progress on a new medical cannabis bill in November 2021, but eventually approved the details of a new law in January 2022 and signed it into law in February. “There is no doubt that there are individuals in our state who could do significantly better if they had access to medically prescribed doses of cannabis,” Reeves said in a press statement. “There are also those who really want a recreational marijuana program that could lead to more people smoking and fewer people working, with all the societal and family ills that that entails.”

As of October 2022, the state issued provisional licenses to 491 work permits, 138 dispensaries, 47 growers, eight processors, four transportation companies, three “disposers” and two testing facilities.

As of December 2022, more than 2,311 applications have been submitted, of which 1,321 have been approved and 990 are still being processed. As of January 23, more than 1,700 patients have been admitted.

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