Early February of 2022, Mississippi legalized the medical use of marijuana. This makes Mississippi the 37th state to legalize medical marijuana. This is a big step forward for medical patients who need access to cannabis products. As previous studies have shown, medical marijuana can be extremely beneficial as an additive to a patient’s treatment. With this new legalization, what are the medical marijuana laws surrounding patients and cultivation in Mississippi? Who qualifies as a medical marijuana patient?
Senate Bill 2095 covers all of this and more.
Mississippi Legalizes Medical Marijuana 2022
On February 2, 2022, the governor of Mississippi, Tate Reeves, signed Senate Bill 2095 into action. This bill legalized medical marijuana use in the state of Mississippi. This type of reform was supported by voters. In fact, voters had approved medical cannabis legalization on the ballot since 2020. Finally, they are seeing their voices heard by lawmakers.
Governor Reeves assured people on social media of his stand on this matter. He explains how he has no doubt that there are individuals in his state who would greatly benefit from access to medically prescribed doses of cannabis. On the other hand, Gov, Reeves expressed his concern on recreational marijuana. He believes that recreational marijuana can lead to increased smoking and fewer people working as a result. Gov. Reeve suspects that this may harm society and family traditions.
The bill experienced multiple changes between Gov. Reeves’ office and the legislators over purchase limits. Ultimately, the bill was signed.
Under the new law, medical dispensaries will hopefully be licensed in about 6 months. If all goes well, Mississippi’s medical marijuana program could be effectively functioning by the end of this year.
Medical Marijuana Benefits
Several studies have been conducted to look into how cannabis can benefit patients medically. First, it has been discovered that patients who suffer from chronic pain experience improved pain management when using cannabis. The study observed a group of chronically ill patients who added small dosages of cannabis into their treatments. These patients saw improvements compared to those who didn’t.
In the same study, researchers and patients made another discovery. By incorporating cannabis into their medical treatments, patients became less dependent on heavier medications, such as opioids. In cases of severe pain or injury, opioids are prescribed to patients. Opioids are often a slippery slope for people to become addicted to them. Incorporating medical marijuana into their treatments can avoid this issue.
On a similar note, these studies suggest that medical cannabis can be extremely beneficial to veterans. Due to their harsh life experience, veterans often suffer from a range of psychological and physical problems. From old and stubborn injuries to PTSD and anxiety, cannabis has been shown to help multiple veterans live a much more peaceful and happy life.
Medical cannabis treatment can help so many individuals in the U.S. Similar to the first study, medical cannabis can help people become less dependent on opioids. If you weren’t aware, there’s an ongoing opioid crisis in the U.S. According to the National Vital Statistics System and the Control Diseases Center (CDC), opioids have increased in recent years. It rose significantly from 46, 802 death in 2018 to 49,860 in 2019.
Drug addiction is a real issue that’s affecting thousands of Americans. CBD has been shown to aid in treatment plans.
Medical Patients Qualifying For Medical Marijuana
The Mississippi Medical Cannabis Program will only be available to qualified adults. For exact requirements and expectations, check in with your corresponding representative. Although Mississippi has legalized medical marijuana, laws may vary from county to county and city to city.
As for medical conditions that could qualify you for the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Program, the list is long. It includes a range of physical, mental, and neurological conditions. A few of them are cancer, muscular dystrophy, HIV, PTSD, Parkinson’s disease, and spinal cord disease. The list is much longer.
Patients that also qualify are those who are terminally ill. Terminally ill patients undergo extreme medical treatments that offer terrible side effects. Those experiencing them will be offered medical cannabis as some form of relief. Such side effects include:
- Chronic pain
- Severe nausea
- Seizures
- Cachexia, a condition that causes your muscles to waste away
- Severe and constant muscle spasms
Mississippi Medical Marijuana Cultivation Laws
As for cultivation, only permitted and licensed companies will be able to cultivate marijuana in the state of Mississippi. According to the new law, these cannabis facilities will be required to cultivate marijuana plants indoors. The facilities in which this takes place must also be secure.
If cultivation companies wish to sell to Mississippi patients, then the facilities must be located within the state.
Moreover, cannabis products will be available for patients to buy by late 2022. This will give the Mississippi State Department of Health to test and observe the quality and safety of cultivation practices and cannabis products.
