Medical cannabis; prohibit advertising or marketing of within the State of Mississippi by any person or entity.

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To: Public Health and Human
Services
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Hobgood-Wilkes

HOUSE BILL NO. 1195

AN ACT TO PROHIBIT INDIVIDUALS, CORPORATIONS AND OTHER 1
ENTITIES FROM ADVERTISING AND MARKETING MEDICAL CANNABIS IN ANY 2
MEDIA WITHIN THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI OR ADVERTISING MEDICAL 3
CANNABIS IN ANY MANNER THAT CAN BE VIEWABLE OR OTHERWISE PERCEIVED 4
AS A PUBLIC SPACE WITHIN THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI; TO REQUIRE THE 5
ATTORNEY GENERAL TO RECEIVE AND INVESTIGATE COMPLAINTS OF 6
VIOLATIONS OF THIS PROVISION, AND TAKE SUCH LEGAL ACTIONS AS 7
NECESSARY TO ENFORCE COMPLIANCE WITH THIS PROVISION; TO AMEND 8
SECTION 41-137-39, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROHIBIT MEDICAL 9
CANNABIS ESTABLISHMENTS AND PERSONS OR ENTITIES ACTING ON THEIR 10
BEHALF FROM ADVERTISING AND MARKETING IN ANY MEDIA OR ADVERTISING 11
IN ANY MANNER THAT CAN BE VIEWABLE OR OTHERWISE PERCEIVED AS A 12
PUBLIC SPACE; TO AMEND SECTION 41-137-41, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 13
1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PRECEDING PROVISION; AND FOR RELATED 14
PURPOSES. 15
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 16
SECTION 1. (1) As used in this section, the term 17
"advertising" means all representations disseminated in any manner 18
or by any means for the purpose of inducing, or which are likely 19
to induce, directly or indirectly, the purchase of medical 20
cannabis. 21
(2) An individual, corporation or other entity is prohibited 22
from (a) advertising and marketing medical cannabis in any media, 23
including, but not limited to, broadcast or electronic media, 24
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print media or other types or forms of media, within the State of 25
Mississippi; (b) advertising medical cannabis in any manner that 26
can be viewable or otherwise perceived as a public space within 27
the State of Mississippi, including, but not limited to, 28
electronic or nonelectronic highway signs and billboards. 29
(3) The Attorney General shall receive and investigate 30
complaints of violations of this section, and if the investigation 31
shows that an individual, corporation or other entity is violating 32
this section, the Attorney General shall take such legal actions 33
against the individual, corporation or other entity as necessary 34
to enforce compliance with this section. 35
(4) This section shall not be applicable to medical cannabis 36
establishments licensed in Mississippi and persons or entities 37
acting on their behalf, but medical cannabis establishments and 38
persons or entities acting on their behalf shall be subject to the 39
prohibitions in Section 41-137-39(24). 40
SECTION 2. Section 41-137-39, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 41
amended as follows: 42
41-137-39. (1) (a) The MDOH shall obtain criminal records 43
background checks on all persons applying to become a licensee, an 44
agent, or representative as defined herein, of a medical cannabis 45
establishment. This shall include performing criminal records 46
background checks on all potential employees, current employees, 47
or representatives/agents of the MDOH Medical Cannabis Program. 48
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The required criminal history background check includes 49
information provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 50
(b) For the purposes of this section, an applicant is 51
any person who registers with or applies for an initial medical 52
cannabis work permit, or a renewal of a medical cannabis work 53
permit. Such a person or applicant may also be defined as an 54
agent, an employee, a representative, etc., as further defined and 55
sometimes used interchangeably as referenced in this section. 56
(c) For purposes of this section, an agent is a person 57
who acts for or on behalf of, or who represents a medical cannabis 58
establishment while in the course of business or employment with 59
the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Program and may also be referred 60
to as an agent, a representative, or vice versa. 61
(d) Representative means a principal officer, owner of 62
ten percent (10%) or greater economic interest in a medical 63
cannabis establishment with direct or indirect interest, officer, 64
director, manager, employee, agent, volunteer, or other type of 65
representative of a registered medical cannabis licensee 66
establishment. 67
(e) Principal officer means a person(s) who has 68
ultimate responsibility for implementing the decisions of a 69
cannabis testing facility or other such medical cannabis 70
establishment and includes, but is not necessarily limited to, the 71
Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Administrative Office (CAO), 72
Chief Financial Officer, (CFO), as applicable. Elected or 73
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appointed, the board as a whole creates agency policies and 74
oversees the agency's managerial positions. 75
(f) Board member means an individual on a medical 76
cannabis establishment's company or agency board which serves as 77
an organization's governing body. 78
(g) Principal owner means the primary owner of a 79
medical cannabis establishment, but often may be the sole owner. 80
(h) Any and every person/applicant seeking to become an 81
owner or principal owner, principal officer, or officer, board 82
member, director, manager, agent/representative, employee, care 83
giver, or volunteer of a medical cannabis establishment shall 84
apply for, or authorize the MDOH to obtain state and national 85
criminal background checks to be conducted by the Mississippi 86
Justice Information Center of the Department of Public Safety and 87
the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 88
(i) Such criminal background checks shall conform to 89
the applicable federal standards and shall include the taking of 90
fingerprints. 91
(j) Once the Mississippi Justice Information Center of 92
the Department of Public Safety completes a state level criminal 93
history background check, they will forward the fingerprints to 94
the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal 95
history background check. 96
(k) The person seeking to become an 97
agent/representative of a medical cannabis establishment shall 98
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authorize the release of such criminal background checks to the 99
MDOH and shall be responsible for the payment of any fee that the 100
Mississippi Justice Information Center of the Department of Public 101
Safety or the MDOH charges to process fingerprint-based state and 102
national criminal background checks. The Department of Public 103
Safety and the MDOH each may charge and retain a fee not to exceed 104
Sixty Dollars ($60.00) for each applicant. 105
(l) The Mississippi Justice Information Center of the 106
Department of Public Safety shall forward to the MDOH all 107
information obtained concerning the applicant. MDOH will not 108
disseminate the information and will only use such information as 109
required to fulfill the purposes of this act. 110
(2) A medical cannabis establishment may not employ any 111
person who: 112
(a) Was convicted of a disqualifying felony offense; or 113
(b) Is under twenty-one (21) years of age. 114
(3) The operating documents of a medical cannabis 115
establishment must include procedures for the oversight of the 116
medical cannabis establishment and procedures to ensure accurate 117
record keeping and adequate security measures. 118
(4) A medical cannabis establishment shall implement 119
appropriate security measures designed to deter and prevent the 120
theft of medical cannabis and unauthorized entrance into areas 121
containing medical cannabis. 122
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(5) All cultivation, harvesting, processing and packaging of 123
medical cannabis must take place in an enclosed, locked and secure 124
facility with a physical address provided to the MDOH during the 125
licensing and registration process. The facility shall be 126
equipped with locks or other security devices that permit access 127
only by agents of the medical cannabis establishment, emergency 128
personnel or adults who are twenty-one (21) years of age and older 129
and who are accompanied by medical cannabis establishment agents. 130
(6) No medical cannabis establishment other than a cannabis 131
processing facility or cannabis research facility may produce 132
cannabis concentrates, cannabis extractions, or other cannabis 133
products. 134
(7) A medical cannabis establishment may not share office 135
space with or refer patients to a practitioner. 136
(8) Medical cannabis establishments are subject to 137
inspection by the MDOR and MDOH during business hours. 138
(9) Before medical cannabis may be dispensed to a 139
cardholder, a dispensary agent must: 140
(a) Require that the individual present a registry 141
identification card; 142
(b) Make a diligent effort to verify that the registry 143
identification card presented to the dispensary is valid; 144
(c) Make a diligent effort to verify that the person 145
presenting the registry identification card is the person 146
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identified on the registry identification card presented to the 147
dispensary agent; and 148
(d) Not believe that the amount of medical cannabis 149
dispensed would cause the person to possess more than the 150
allowable amount of medical cannabis. 151
(10) A medical cannabis establishment shall not sell more 152
than the allowable amount of medical cannabis to a cardholder. A 153
resident cardholder shall not obtain more than a total of 154
twenty-four (24) MMCEUs of allowable medical cannabis in thirty 155
(30) days from a dispensary or a combination of dispensaries. 156
The possession limit for resident cardholders of the 157
allowable amount of medical cannabis shall be a total of 158
twenty-eight (28) MMCEUs. There shall not be a possession limit 159
on nonconsumable medical cannabis, including, but not limited to, 160
suppositories, ointments, soaps, and lotions or other topical 161
agents. 162
(11) For purposes of this chapter, total THC is defined as 163
THCA multiplied by .877 plus THC Delta 9 and all other 164
psychoactive forms or isomers of THC added together. A medical 165
cannabis establishment shall not sell cannabis flower or trim that 166
has a potency of greater than thirty percent (30%) total THC. A 167
medical cannabis dispensary shall not sell cannabis tinctures, 168
oils or concentrates that have a potency of greater than sixty 169
percent (60%) total THC. Cannabis products that have a potency of 170
over thirty percent (30%) total THC shall be clearly labeled as 171
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"extremely potent." Edible cannabis products, including food or 172
drink products, that have been combined with usable cannabis or 173
cannabis products shall be physically demarked and labeled with a 174
clear determination of how much total THC is in a single-serving 175
size and how much THC is in the entire package. 176
A medical cannabis product shall contain a notice of harm 177
regarding the use of cannabis products. Edible cannabis products 178
shall be homogenized to ensure uniform disbursement of 179
cannabinoids throughout the product. All molded edible cannabis 180
products shall be presented in the form of geometric shapes and 181
shall not be molded to contain any images or characters designed 182
or likely to appeal to minors, such as cartoons, toys, animals or 183
children. 184
(12) A dispensary may not dispense more than the allowable 185
amount of cannabis to a registered qualifying patient or a 186
nonresident cardholder, directly or via a registered designated 187
caregiver. Dispensaries shall ensure compliance with this 188
limitation by maintaining internal, confidential records that 189
include records specifying how much medical cannabis is being 190
dispensed to the registered qualifying patient or nonresident 191
cardholder and whether it was dispensed directly to a registered 192
qualifying patient, nonresident cardholder or to the registered 193
designated caregiver. 194
(13) A nonresident cardholder shall not obtain more than a 195
total of six (6) MMCEUs of allowable medical cannabis in a week 196
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from a dispensary or a combination of dispensaries. A nonresident 197
cardholder shall not obtain more than a total of twelve (12) 198
MMCEUs of allowable cannabis from a dispensary or a combination of 199
dispensaries in a fifteen-day period. 200
(14) A nonresident may apply to receive a nonresident 201
registry identification card up to thirty (30) days before 202
arriving in Mississippi. A nonresident registry identification 203
card shall be valid for fifteen (15) days. After the expiration 204
of the card, a nonresident may apply for a renewal of the card and 205
may be granted another card which shall be valid for another 206
fifteen-day period. A nonresident registry identification card 207
shall only be valid, at a maximum, for two (2) separate periods of 208
fifteen (15) days in a three-hundred-sixty-five-day period. An 209
applicant may indicate on his or her application the specific time 210
period that he or she wishes for the card to be valid. The 211
possession limit of the allowable amount of medical cannabis for 212
nonresident cardholders shall be fourteen (14) MMCEUs. 213
(15) A medical cannabis dispensary agent or employee shall 214
not issue a written certification. Employees and agents of a 215
medical cannabis dispensary shall complete at least eight (8) 216
hours of continuing education in medical cannabis as regulated by 217
the MDOR in order to be certified to work at a medical cannabis 218
dispensary. After the first year of employment, these employees 219
shall complete five (5) hours of continuing education in medical 220
cannabis annually to maintain this certification. 221
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(16) Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, a 222
patient with a debilitating medical condition who is between 223
eighteen (18) years to twenty-five (25) years of age is not 224
eligible for a medical cannabis registry identification card 225
unless two (2) practitioners from separate medical practices have 226
diagnosed the patient as having a debilitating medical condition 227
after an in-person consultation. One (1) of these practitioners 228
must be a physician or doctor of osteopathic medicine. 229
If one (1) of the recommending practitioners is not the 230
patient's primary care practitioner, the recommending practitioner 231
shall review the records of a diagnosing practitioner. The 232
requirement that the two (2) practitioners be from separate 233
medical practices does not apply if the patient is homebound or if 234
the patient had a registry identification card before the age of 235
eighteen (18). 236
(17) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a medical 237
cannabis establishment shall not allow an individual who is 238
younger than twenty-one (21) years old to enter the premises of 239
the establishment unless the individual possesses a registry 240
identification card and is accompanied by his or her legal 241
guardian. 242
(18) A medical cannabis establishment shall only purchase, 243
grow, cultivate, and use cannabis that is grown and cultivated in 244
this state. Any medical cannabis that is grown and cultivated in 245
this state shall not be transported outside of this state. 246
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(19) Employees of all medical cannabis establishments shall 247
apply for a work permit with the MDOH and MDOR, as applicable, 248
before beginning employment with any establishment. The licensing 249
agency for the respective medical cannabis establishment may issue 250
work permits to these individuals. These licensing agencies shall 251
maintain a work registry of all applicants and work permits 252
issued. The fee for a work permit shall be Twenty-five Dollars 253
($25.00) and the permit shall be valid for five (5) years. Work 254
permits shall be the property of the employee and shall not be 255
transferable to other employees. 256
(20) For purposes of this subsection, "plant growth 257
regulator cannabis" shall mean a cannabis plant whose growth and 258
structure has been modified using plant growth hormones. A 259
cannabis cultivation facility shall not cultivate and a cannabis 260
dispensary shall not sell, transfer or provide for consumption 261
plant growth regulator cannabis. 262
(21) A medical cannabis dispensary shall only make sales to 263
cardholders inside the dispensary. A medical cannabis dispensary 264
shall not sell or otherwise convey medical cannabis to a 265
cardholder through the means of a drive-through, curbside delivery 266
or other delivery outside the premises of the dispensary. Any 267
topical cannabis product that is purchased by a dispensary from a 268
licensed processor, and that is not ingested by the liver, may be 269
sold to a cardholder or any person over the age of twenty-one (21) 270
years old who is not a cardholder. Such products shall be placed 271
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in an area of the dispensary that does not require access with a 272
registry identification card. 273
(22) Any and all contracts or agreements entered into by the 274
MDOH and MDOR for information technology software, hardware, 275
and/or services for the purpose of implementing and/or operating 276
under the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act shall include language 277
reasonably limiting the ability of the vendor to escalate the 278
ongoing cost of such software, hardware, and/or services during 279
the term of the contract, including any amendments and/or 280
extensions. 281
(23) The MDOR and MDOH shall not share the name, address or 282
personal data of a registry identification cardholder to any 283
federal government entity. 284
(24) Medical cannabis establishments licensed under this 285
chapter and persons or entities acting on their behalf are 286
prohibited from (a) advertising and marketing in any media, 287
including, but not limited to, broadcast or electronic media, 288
print media or other types or forms of media; (b) advertising in 289
any manner that can be viewable or otherwise perceived as a public 290
space, including, but not limited to, electronic or nonelectronic 291
highway signs and billboards. 292
SECTION 3. Section 41-137-41, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 293
amended as follows: 294
41-137-41. (1) From and after February 2, 2022, the MDOH 295
and MDOR shall each, where relevant to the role of that particular 296
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agency, establish and promulgate the following rules and 297
regulations: 298
(a) Governing the manner in which it shall consider 299
petitions from the public to add debilitating medical conditions 300
or treatments to the list of debilitating medical conditions set 301
forth in Section 41-137-3, including public notice of and 302
opportunities to comment in public hearings on the petitions; 303
(b) Establishing the form and content of license and 304
renewal applications and written certifications submitted under 305
this chapter; 306
(c) Governing the manner in which it shall consider 307
applications for and renewals of registry identification cards, 308
which may include creating a standardized written certification 309
form; 310
(d) Governing medical cannabis establishments with the 311
goals of ensuring the health and safety of registered qualifying 312
patients and preventing diversion and theft of medical cannabis 313
without imposing an undue burden or compromising the 314
confidentiality of cardholders, including: 315
(i) Oversight requirements; 316
(ii) Recordkeeping requirements; 317
(iii) Qualifications that are directly and 318
demonstrably related to the operation of medical cannabis 319
establishments; 320
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(iv) Security requirements, including lighting, 321
physical security, and alarm requirements; 322
(v) Health and safety regulations, including 323
restrictions on the use of pesticides, herbicides or other 324
chemicals that are injurious to human health; 325
(vi) Standards for the processing of cannabis 326
products and the indoor cultivation of cannabis by cannabis 327
cultivation facilities; 328
(vii) Requirements for the transportation and 329
storage of cannabis by medical cannabis establishments; 330
(viii) Employment and training requirements, 331
including requiring that each medical cannabis establishment 332
create an identification badge for each agent of the 333
establishment; 334
(ix) Standards for the safe processing of medical 335
cannabis products, including extracts and concentrates; 336
(x) Restrictions on the advertising, signage, and 337
display of medical cannabis consistent with the prohibitions in 338
Section 41-137-39(24), provided that the restrictions may not 339
prevent appropriate signs on the property of a dispensary, 340
listings in business directories, including phone books, listings 341
in cannabis-related or medical publications, display of cannabis 342
in company logos and other branding activities, display on 343
dispensary websites of pictures of products that the dispensary 344
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sells, or the sponsorship of health or not-for-profit charity or 345
advocacy events; 346
(xi) Requirements and procedures for the safe and 347
accurate packaging and labeling of medical cannabis, including 348
prohibiting the use of any images designed or likely to appeal to 349
minors, such as cartoons, packaging that resembles popular candy 350
brands, toys, animals or children, or any other likeness or image 351
containing characters or phrases to advertise to minors; 352
(xii) Standards for cannabis testing facilities, 353
including requirements for equipment and qualifications for 354
personnel; 355
(xiii) Protocol development for the safe delivery 356
of medical cannabis from dispensaries to cardholders; 357
(xiv) Reasonable requirements to ensure the 358
applicant has sufficient property or capital to operate the 359
applicant's proposed medical cannabis establishment; 360
(xv) Procedures for suspending or terminating the 361
licenses or registry identification cards of cardholders and 362
medical cannabis establishments that commit multiple or serious 363
violations of the provisions of this chapter or the rules and 364
regulations promulgated pursuant to this section; 365
(xvi) Procedures for the selection, certification 366
and oversight of a seed-to-sale tracking system as provided for in 367
Section 41-137-11; 368
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(xvii) Requirements for labeling medical cannabis 369
and cannabis products, including requiring medical cannabis 370
product labels to include the following: 371
1. The length of time it typically takes for 372
the product to take effect; 373
2. Disclosure of ingredients and possible 374
allergens; 375
3. A nutritional fact panel; 376
4. The amount of THC and CBD in the product; 377
5. A notice of the potential harm caused by 378
consuming medical cannabis; and 379
6. For edible cannabis products, when 380
practicable, a standard symbol indicating that the product 381
contains cannabis; 382
(xviii) Procedures for the registration of 383
nonresident cardholders, which must require the submission of: 384
1. A practitioner's statement confirming that 385
the patient has a debilitating medical condition; and 386
2. Documentation demonstrating that the 387
nonresident cardholder is allowed to possess medical cannabis or 388
cannabis preparations in the jurisdiction where he or she resides; 389
(xix) The amount of cannabis products, including 390
the amount of concentrated cannabis, each cardholder and 391
nonresident cardholder can possess; 392
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(xx) Reasonable application and renewal fees for 393
registry identification cards and registration certificates, 394
according to the following: 395
1. The fee schedule shall be set as follows: 396
a. The qualifying patient registry 397
identification card application fee shall be Twenty-five Dollars 398
($25.00); 399
b. The designated caregiver registry 400
identification card application fee shall be Twenty-five Dollars 401
($25.00); 402
c. The designated caregiver criminal 403
background fee shall be Thirty-seven Dollars ($37.00); 404
d. The fee for a renewal or replacement 405
of a card shall be Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00); 406
e. The fee for a card for a nonresident 407
patient shall be Seventy-five Dollars ($75.00); 408
f. The qualifying patient registry 409
identification card application fee for a Medicaid participant 410
shall be Fifteen Dollars ($15.00) and the fee for a renewal of 411
such card shall be Fifteen Dollars ($15.00); and 412
g. The application fee for a qualifying 413
patient registry identification card for disabled veterans or 414
disabled first responders shall be waived. A disabled veteran or 415
first responder may prove their disability by providing written 416
documentation from their practitioner attesting to their 417
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ST: Medical cannabis; prohibit advertising or
marketing of within the State of Mississippi by
any person or entity.
debilitating medical condition, documentation from the Social 418
Security Disability Office, or documentation that attests the 419
applicant is a one-hundred percent (100%) disabled veteran as 420
determined by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs and codified 421
at 38 CFR, Section 3.340(a)(2013); and 422
2. The MDOH may accept donations from private 423
sources to reduce the amount of the application and renewal fees; 424
(xxi) Any other rules and regulations necessary to 425
implement and administer this chapter. 426
(2) The initial rules filed by the MDOH to implement the 427
medical cannabis program in accordance with this chapter shall be 428
effective immediately upon their filing. 429
(3) No state agency, political subdivision or board shall 430
implement any rule, regulation, policy, or requirement that is 431
contrary to the provisions of the Mississippi Medical Cannabis 432
Act. 433
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from 434
and after July 1, 2026. 435