Within the days after the Mississippi Medical Hashish Act handed, I obtained a number of texts, emails and cellphone calls from folks excited for Mississippi. However after just a few days, folks started to surprise: What precisely handed on this invoice?
Right here’s a breakdown:
First, if you’re a affected person with one of many 28 enumerate debilitating medical circumstances (discovered on the Mississippi Division of Well being’s marijuana web page), as soon as hashish is absolutely grown and examined within the state, you should purchase it with a medical marijuana card. With a card, a affected person should purchase six models of three.5 grams per week and not more than 24 models of three.5 grams per 30 days. This equates to roughly 3 ounces of marijuana per 30 days.
Second, the invoice permits for physicians, licensed nurse practitioners, doctor assistants and optometrists to certify sufferers with debilitating circumstances. These practitioners will probably be required to take 8 hours of constant medical schooling credit earlier than beginning to concern affected person certifications. Sufferers between the ages of 18 and 25 will want certifications from two practitioners, certainly one of whom is a doctor or a health care provider of osteopathic drugs. For minors, certifications can solely be written by physicians or docs of osteopathic drugs and with consent from a guardian or guardian.
Third, seven license sorts will probably be out there for companies: cultivation, processing, dispensary, transportation, disposal, testing, and analysis. Companies can haven’t any multiple cultivation, one processing, and 5 dispensaries. The state is not going to put a restrict on the variety of licenses it points. There are two sub-tiers of “micro cultivator”and “micro processor” licenses carved out for smaller, utterly Mississippi-owned companies.
Fourth, smokable, tincture, edible, topical, and different types of merchandise will probably be out there for buy by sufferers with playing cards. Mississippi may have THC efficiency caps. In uncooked flower, THC could be not more than 30%. In extracted supplies, tinctures, vape cartridges, edibles, and so on., THC could be not more than 60%. All merchandise, from seed to sale, should be grown, manufactured, examined, and tracked in Mississippi.
So now what?
By June 2, the Division of Well being will create guidelines and rules that govern all license sorts, besides dispensaries. The Division of Income will put forth related necessities for dispensaries by July 2. Each departments must concern their respective licenses after 30 days of receiving an software. Municipalities and counties have till Could 3 to announce and vote ought to they need to choose out.
As soon as seeds go into the bottom in early July, it is going to take 4-6 months for the marijuana to be absolutely grown, dried, processed, and examined. Many companies anticipate by December, sufferers will be capable to buy medical marijuana.
This can be a lot of knowledge, however it boils right down to this: Mississippi has a medical marijuana program with clear pointers for sufferers, docs, and companies. Sufferers in want of reduction will start to see companies open up throughout the state and put together high quality and secure merchandise for on a regular basis use, ideally by the top of this yr.
Ken Newburger is the manager director for the Mississippi Medical Marijuana Affiliation.
