On Jan. 25, a few Mississippi dispensaries were ready to welcome customers. Melvin C. Robinson, Mississippi Trade Association Executive Director, welcomed customers to The Cannabis Company, one of the state's licensed dispensaries. “This is an exciting day for Brookhaven. History has been made,” Robinson said.
Debbie McDermott became a medical cannabis cardholder at Brookhaven-based The Cannabis Company after suffering from chronic pain and other issues. McDermott was delayed for two and a half hours before she was able to purchase her medicine due to technical difficulties with the METRC point-of-sale system.
The Cannabis Company co-owner Le Anne Penn told The Daily Leader that she changed her career to enter the cannabis industry. “I have enjoyed it. The business will be different from what I was doing before,” Penn said. “I had been a body technician for 40 years. I became interested in this because I saw the potential in the industry and the need in people. This will hopefully help those who are in need or unable to take opioids or other medications.
According to other news outlets, dispensaries sold on Jan. 25 as well, with more expecting their shipments this weekend.
According to Mississippi Medical Marijuana Association Executive Director Ken Newburger, the launch of this program has been in the making for over two years. “We have worked diligently since 2018 to ensure that patients in Mississippi have access to medical marijuana, and today is an incredible milestone,” said Newburger. “This is only the start. In the upcoming months, more and more companies will start cultivating, testing and stocking shelves with their products; therefore, patients across the state will be able to purchase certified goods from a variety of businesses.”
Medical cannabis cardholders are permitted to buy up to 3.5 grams daily, for a total of 3 ounces over the course of a month; however, they must have at least one of the 26 accepted qualifying conditions. These include cancer, Parkinson’s disease, glaucoma, Crohn’s disease, autism, muscle dystrophy and wasting syndrome; in addition to severe or intractable nausea, seizures, and persistent spasms such as those seen in multiple sclerosis.
With Initiative 65, voters approved medical cannabis in November 2020. After opponents of medical cannabis legalization challenged the vote results in April 2021, the Mississippi Supreme Court struck down Initiative 65 in May of 2021, stating that it was constitutionally flawed. In September, lawmakers re-implemented a plan to legalize medical cannabis, following discussions about the topic throughout the year.
In November 2021, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves put a stop to the momentum of a medical cannabis bill, until finally giving his approval to the legislation in January 2022 and signing it into law the following month. In a press statement, he remarked, “There is no doubt that certain individuals in our state could benefit from access to medically prescribed doses of cannabis. Meanwhile, there are those who are pushing for legalized recreational marijuana, which could result in more people using and fewer working - and all the associated problems that come with that.”
138 dispensaries, 47 cultivators, eight processors, four transportation businesses, three "disposal companies," and two testing facilities received provisional licenses in October 2022.
A total of 2,311 applications have been submitted, 1,321 have been approved, and 990 are being processed. As of Jan. 23, more than 1,700 patients have been approved.
Debbie McDermott became a medical cannabis cardholder at Brookhaven-based The Cannabis Company after suffering from chronic pain and other issues. McDermott was delayed for two and a half hours before she was able to purchase her medicine due to technical difficulties with the METRC point-of-sale system.
The Cannabis Company co-owner Le Anne Penn told The Daily Leader that she changed her career to enter the cannabis industry. “I have enjoyed it. The business will be different from what I was doing before,” Penn said. “I had been a body technician for 40 years. I became interested in this because I saw the potential in the industry and the need in people. This will hopefully help those who are in need or unable to take opioids or other medications.
According to other news outlets, dispensaries sold on Jan. 25 as well, with more expecting their shipments this weekend.
According to Mississippi Medical Marijuana Association Executive Director Ken Newburger, the launch of this program has been in the making for over two years. “We have worked diligently since 2018 to ensure that patients in Mississippi have access to medical marijuana, and today is an incredible milestone,” said Newburger. “This is only the start. In the upcoming months, more and more companies will start cultivating, testing and stocking shelves with their products; therefore, patients across the state will be able to purchase certified goods from a variety of businesses.”
Medical cannabis cardholders are permitted to buy up to 3.5 grams daily, for a total of 3 ounces over the course of a month; however, they must have at least one of the 26 accepted qualifying conditions. These include cancer, Parkinson’s disease, glaucoma, Crohn’s disease, autism, muscle dystrophy and wasting syndrome; in addition to severe or intractable nausea, seizures, and persistent spasms such as those seen in multiple sclerosis.
With Initiative 65, voters approved medical cannabis in November 2020. After opponents of medical cannabis legalization challenged the vote results in April 2021, the Mississippi Supreme Court struck down Initiative 65 in May of 2021, stating that it was constitutionally flawed. In September, lawmakers re-implemented a plan to legalize medical cannabis, following discussions about the topic throughout the year.
In November 2021, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves put a stop to the momentum of a medical cannabis bill, until finally giving his approval to the legislation in January 2022 and signing it into law the following month. In a press statement, he remarked, “There is no doubt that certain individuals in our state could benefit from access to medically prescribed doses of cannabis. Meanwhile, there are those who are pushing for legalized recreational marijuana, which could result in more people using and fewer working - and all the associated problems that come with that.”
138 dispensaries, 47 cultivators, eight processors, four transportation businesses, three "disposal companies," and two testing facilities received provisional licenses in October 2022.
A total of 2,311 applications have been submitted, 1,321 have been approved, and 990 are being processed. As of Jan. 23, more than 1,700 patients have been approved.
