The Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act now heads to Gov. Tate Reeves with super-majority support from the House and Senate. With a vote of 103-13, the House passed a version of the act that slightly modified the amended version the House sent back to the Senate on January 19, 2022. Gov. Reeves can either sign the act into law, allow the act to sit for five days (Sunday excluded), after which time the act will become law, or veto the act only to most assuredly have that veto be overridden by the supermajority support of the act in both chambers of the legislature. Absent a wild turn of events, medical cannabis is now a reality in Mississippi.
A full version of the act, passed in the form of a conference committee report, is here. With some modification from the version we previously summarized, the act, among other things, establishes a tiered medical marijuana program consisting of cultivators, processors, testing facilities, research facilities, transporters, dispensaries, and disposal entities, authorizes additional agency regulation by the Mississippi Department of Health (MDOH) and Department of Revenue (MDOR), prohibits outdoor growing, permits smoking of medical cannabis, allows counties and municipalities to opt out of the program, imposes state sales and excise taxes, and provides certain safe harbor protections to employers and financial institutions.
Highlights include:
Section 2. Definitions
“Cannabis products” include cannabis flower, concentrated cannabis, cannabis extracts and products infused with cannabis or an extract of cannabis intended for human use or consumption.“Debilitating medical conditions” includes a broad list of diseases and an unspecified group of diseases or treatments that may cause certain symptoms or side effects.“Chronic pain” means either the cause of pain or relief from the pain is impossible or unachievable after reasonable efforts by a practitioner.“Mississippi Medical Cannabis Equivalency Unit” (MMCEU) is equal to (i) 3.5 grams of medical cannabis flower; (ii) 1 gram of concentrate; or (iii) 100 mg of THC.Section 3. Authorization to Use Medical Cannabis
Section 4. General Responsibilities of Departments
Section 5. Protections for the Medical Use of Cannabis
Section 6. Seed-to-Sale Tracking System
Section 7. Limitations
Smoking cannabis in public is prohibited.Section 8. Discrimination Prohibited
The bill does not create a private right of action by an employee against an employer and does not affect any existing legal relationship between an employer and employee.Section 9. Addition of Debilitating Medical Conditions
Section 10. Acts Not Required and Acts Not Prohibited
Section 11. Facility restrictions
Section 12. Issuance and Denial of Registry ID Cards
Section 13. Registry Identification Cards
Section 14. Annual Reports
Section 15. Verification System
Section 16. Notifications to Department and Responses
Section 17. Reporting Requirements for Dispensaries
Section 18. Licensing of Medical Cannabis Establishments
Cultivators:Micro-processors:Processors: facility annually processing more than 3,000 lbs. of dried biomass cannabis material subject to a one-time, non-refundable application fee of $15,000 and annual license fee of $20,000Dispensaries: subject to a one-time, non-refundable application fee of $15,000 and annual license fee of $25,000Transportation entities: subject to a one-time, non-refundable application fee of $5,000 and annual license fee of $7,500Disposal entities: subject to a one-time, non-refundable application fee of $5,000 and annual license fee of $7,500Testing facilities: subject to a one-time, non-refundable application fee of $10,000 and annual license fee of $15,000Research facilities: subject to a one-time, non-refundable application fee of $10,000 and annual license fee of $15,000No individual or entity can have direct or indirect ownership or economic interest of greater than 10% in:The act does not cap the total amount of licenses available in Mississippi at large. In other words, there is no limit on the number of cultivation or processing facilities or dispensaries in the state.There are residency requirements for cultivation facility and processing facility licenses.Micro-cultivators and micro-processors residency requirements:Owning a license under the act should not disqualify or negatively impact that owner in engaging in any other type of licensed business under state law.Requirements for applying for a medical cannabis establishment license include:Names of officers/board members;Operating and record-keeping procedures; andSworn statement certifying compliance with local ordinances.Licensee applicants will not be disqualified based on involvement or location on Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indian Reservation Lands.A processing facility that produces edible cannabis products must hold a permit as a food establishment and comply with applicable requirements for food establishments.Section 19. Local Ordinances
Localities may require local licenses to operate and charge fees consistent with other fees charged to non-cannabis businesses.Section 20. Requirements, Prohibitions, and Penalties
The possession limit for a resident cardholder is 28 MMCEUs (98 grams of flower, 28 grams of concentrate, and 1,280 mg of THC-infused consumables), except there is no possession limit on non-consumable medical cannabis, such as suppositories, ointments, soaps, and lotions or other topical agents.THC is defined as THCA multiplied by .877 plus THC Delta 9 and all other psychoactive forms or isomers of THC added together.Products with over 30% THC must be labeled “extremely potent.”Edibles must show TCH per single serving and per package.Cannabis products must contain label warnings, and edible products must be presented in certain forms, including in the form of geometric shapes.Non-resident cardholders have more limits on possession amounts and must apply for non-resident card before arriving.Cannabis establishments can only purchase, grow, cultivate and use cannabis grown and cultivated in Mississippi, and such cannabis cannot be transported outside of the state.All employees must obtain particular work permits to work in the industry.Section 21. Agencies to Issue Rules and Regulations
Section 22. Public Registry
Sections 23 and 24. Violations and Fines, Suspensions and Revocations
Section 25. Confidentiality
Section 26. Business Expenses, Deductions
Section 27. Banks to Be Held Harmless
Section 28. Not Applicable to CBD Solution
Section 29. Medical Cannabis Taxes
Section 30. Local Government Option
Qualified electors of the county/municipality can petition to have a local election on allowing these operations in the locality, despite local authorities electing to opt out.Section 31. Judicial Review
Section 32. Fees, Fines, and Tax Allocation
Section 33. Medical Cannabis Advisory Committee
Section 34. Amendment to Miss. Code Ann. Section 25-53-5
The Rest of the Bill
However, use of medical cannabis in accordance with the program can foreclose workers’ compensation recovery under Miss Code Ann. 71-3-7 if such use was the proximate cause of the injury.
