Mississippi becomes the 37th state to legalize medical marijuana
Published on Thursday, February 3, 2022
Mississippi became the 37th state to legalize the medical use of marijuana on Wednesday – enabling a new form of pain treatment for residents suffering a number of severe, debilitating health conditions.
Patients must be diagnosed by a licensed healthcare professional with any of the roughly two dozen qualifying conditions in order to receive a prescription for medical marijuana.
The conditions include cancer, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, muscular dystrophy, Alzheimer’s, autism, post-traumatic stress disorder and severe injury.
Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed the legislation February 2nd and it became law immediately.
The Mississippi State Department of Health is currently working to establish the licensing and patient registry structures and plans to begin accepting online license applications for patients, medical practitioners, cannabis cultivation facilities, and other by June 2022.
The National Conference of State Legislatures says 36 states and four territories already allowed the medical use of cannabis. Mississippi becomes the 37th state.
The new law will allow patients to buy up to 3.5 grams of cannabis per day, up to six days a week. That is about 3 ounces per month. It sets taxes on production and sale of cannabis, and it specifies that plants must be grown indoors under controlled conditions.
The new law prohibits the state from providing economic development incentives for the cannabis industry. The state often provides tax breaks and financial assistance for roads or water access to industrial sites.
The law gives cities and counties 90 days to opt out of allowing medical marijuana facilities, for growing or selling. But, people in those communities could petition for an election to overrule local officials' decisions and allow them.
