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H. B. No. 1711 *HR43/R33CS* ~ OFFICIAL ~ G1/2
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To: Public Health and Human
Services
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026
By: Representative Currie
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
HOUSE BILL NO. 1711
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 41-137-23, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 1
TO PROVIDE THAT A REGISTERED DESIGNATED CAREGIVER SHALL NOT BE 2
REQUIRED TO HAVE A CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK MORE FREQUENTLY THAN 3
ONCE EVERY FIVE YEARS FOR THE CAREGIVER TO RENEW HIS OR HER 4
REGISTRY IDENTIFICATION CARD UNDER THE MEDICAL CANNABIS ACT; TO 5
AMEND SECTION 41-137-39, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT 6
A DISPENSARY MAY DISPENSE MEDICAL CANNABIS DIRECTLY TO A 7
REGISTERED DESIGNATED CAREGIVER ON BEHALF OF A REGISTERED 8
QUALIFYING PATIENT, AND THE REGISTERED QUALIFYING PATIENT DOES NOT 9
NEED TO BE PRESENT WITH THE REGISTERED DESIGNATED CAREGIVER WHEN 10
THE CAREGIVER IS PURCHASING THE MEDICAL CANNABIS FROM THE 11
DISPENSARY; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 12
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 13
SECTION 1. Section 41-137-23, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 14
amended as follows: 15
41-137-23. (1) No later than one hundred twenty (120) days 16
after February 2, 2022, the MDOH shall begin issuing registry 17
identification cards to qualifying patients who submit the 18
following: 19
(a) A written certification issued by a practitioner 20
within six (6) months immediately preceding the date of the 21
application; 22
(b) The application or renewal fee; 23
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(c) The name, address, social security number, and date 24
of birth of the qualifying patient; 25
(d) The name, address, and telephone number of the 26
qualifying patient's practitioner issuing the written 27
certification; 28
(e) The name, address, social security number, and date 29
of birth of the designated caregiver, or designated caregivers, 30
chosen by the qualifying patient; and 31
(f) If more than one (1) designated caregiver is 32
designated at any given time, documentation demonstrating that a 33
greater number of designated caregivers is needed due to the 34
patient's age or medical condition. 35
(2) If the qualifying patient is unable to submit the 36
information required by subsection (1) of this section due to the 37
person's age or medical condition, the person responsible for 38
making medical decisions for the qualifying patient may do so on 39
behalf of the qualifying patient. 40
(3) Except as provided in subsection (5) of this section, 41
the MDOH shall: 42
(a) Verify the information contained in an application 43
or renewal submitted under this section and approve or deny an 44
application or renewal within ten (10) days of receiving a 45
completed application or renewal application; and 46
(b) Issue registry identification cards to a qualifying 47
patient and his or her designated caregiver(s), if any, within 48
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five (5) days of approving the application or renewal. A 49
designated caregiver must have a registry identification card for 50
each of his or her qualifying patients. 51
(4) (a) The MDOH shall require criminal background checks 52
in order to carry out this section. 53
(b) The MDOH shall require that the prospective 54
designated caregiver or caregiver's applicant apply for or 55
authorize the division to obtain state and national criminal 56
background checks to be conducted by the Mississippi Justice 57
Information Center of the Department of Public Safety and the 58
Federal Bureau of Investigation. 59
(c) Such criminal background checks shall conform to 60
the applicable federal standards, and shall include the taking of 61
fingerprints. 62
(d) The applicant shall authorize the release of such 63
criminal background checks to the MDOH, and shall be responsible 64
for the payment of any fee associated with the criminal background 65
checks. 66
(e) Upon completion of such criminal background checks, 67
the Mississippi Justice Information Center of the Department of 68
Public Safety shall forward to the MDOH all information obtained 69
concerning the applicant. 70
(f) A registered designated caregiver shall not be 71
required to have a criminal background check more frequently than 72
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once every five (5) years for the caregiver to renew his or her 73
registry identification card. 74
(5) The MDOH shall not issue a registry identification card 75
to a qualifying patient who is younger than eighteen (18) years of 76
age, unless: 77
(a) The qualifying patient's practitioner has explained 78
the potential risks and benefits of the medical use of medical 79
cannabis to the custodial parent or legal guardian with 80
responsibility for health care decisions for the qualifying 81
patient; and 82
(b) The custodial parent or legal guardian with 83
responsibility for health care decisions for the qualifying 84
patient consents in writing to: 85
(i) Acknowledge the potential harms related to the 86
use of medical cannabis; 87
(ii) Allow the qualifying patient's medical use of 88
medical cannabis; 89
(iii) Serve as the qualifying patient's designated 90
caregiver; and 91
(iv) Control the acquisition of the medical 92
cannabis, the dosage and the frequency of the use of medical 93
cannabis by the qualifying patient. 94
(6) If a designated caregiver is an entity licensed to 95
provide health care services, residential care services or day 96
care services, then: 97
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(a) The MDOH may provide a single registry 98
identification card to the entity, regardless of the number of 99
registered qualifying patients the entity serves; and 100
(b) The MDOH may issue individual registry 101
identification cards for employees of the entity that may 102
transport medical cannabis. 103
(7) The MDOH shall provide an electronic or physical list of 104
registered qualifying patients who have designated the entity as 105
their caregiver. This list shall be updated with each additional 106
designation. 107
(8) The MDOH may deny an application or renewal of a 108
qualifying patient's registry identification card only if the 109
applicant: 110
(a) Did not provide the required information or 111
materials; 112
(b) Previously had a registry identification card 113
revoked; 114
(c) Provided false information; or 115
(d) Failed to meet the other requirements of this 116
chapter. 117
(9) The MDOH may deny an application or renewal for a 118
designated caregiver chosen by a qualifying patient whose registry 119
identification card was granted only if the applicant: 120
(a) Does not meet the definition of "designated 121
caregiver" under Section 41-137-3; 122
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(b) Did not provide the information required; 123
(c) Previously had a registry identification card 124
revoked; 125
(d) Provided false information; 126
(e) Is younger than twenty-one (21) years of age and is 127
not the parent or legal guardian of the qualifying patient who the 128
designated caregiver would assist; or 129
(f) Failed to meet the other requirements of this 130
chapter. 131
(10) The MDOH shall give written notice to the qualifying 132
patient of the reason for denying a registry identification card 133
to the qualifying patient or to the qualifying patient's 134
designated caregiver. 135
(11) Denial of an application or renewal is considered a 136
final MDOH action, subject to judicial review in accordance with 137
Section 41-137-59. 138
SECTION 2. Section 41-137-39, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 139
amended as follows: 140
41-137-39. (1) (a) The MDOH shall obtain criminal records 141
background checks on all persons applying to become a licensee, an 142
agent, or representative as defined herein, of a medical cannabis 143
establishment. This shall include performing criminal records 144
background checks on all potential employees, current employees, 145
or representatives/agents of the MDOH Medical Cannabis Program. 146
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The required criminal history background check includes 147
information provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 148
(b) For the purposes of this section, an applicant is 149
any person who registers with or applies for an initial medical 150
cannabis work permit, or a renewal of a medical cannabis work 151
permit. Such a person or applicant may also be defined as an 152
agent, an employee, a representative, etc., as further defined and 153
sometimes used interchangeably as referenced in this section. 154
(c) For purposes of this section, an agent is a person 155
who acts for or on behalf of, or who represents a medical cannabis 156
establishment while in the course of business or employment with 157
the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Program and may also be referred 158
to as an agent, a representative, or vice versa. 159
(d) Representative means a principal officer, owner of 160
ten percent (10%) or greater economic interest in a medical 161
cannabis establishment with direct or indirect interest, officer, 162
director, manager, employee, agent, volunteer, or other type of 163
representative of a registered medical cannabis licensee 164
establishment. 165
(e) Principal officer means a person(s) who has 166
ultimate responsibility for implementing the decisions of a 167
cannabis testing facility or other such medical cannabis 168
establishment and includes, but is not necessarily limited to, the 169
Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Administrative Office (CAO), 170
Chief Financial Officer, (CFO), as applicable. Elected or 171
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appointed, the board as a whole creates agency policies and 172
oversees the agency's managerial positions. 173
(f) Board member means an individual on a medical 174
cannabis establishment's company or agency board which serves as 175
an organization's governing body. 176
(g) Principal owner means the primary owner of a 177
medical cannabis establishment, but often may be the sole owner. 178
(h) Any and every person/applicant seeking to become an 179
owner or principal owner, principal officer, or officer, board 180
member, director, manager, agent/representative, employee, care 181
giver, or volunteer of a medical cannabis establishment shall 182
apply for, or authorize the MDOH to obtain state and national 183
criminal background checks to be conducted by the Mississippi 184
Justice Information Center of the Department of Public Safety and 185
the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 186
(i) Such criminal background checks shall conform to 187
the applicable federal standards and shall include the taking of 188
fingerprints. 189
(j) Once the Mississippi Justice Information Center of 190
the Department of Public Safety completes a state level criminal 191
history background check, they will forward the fingerprints to 192
the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal 193
history background check. 194
(k) The person seeking to become an 195
agent/representative of a medical cannabis establishment shall 196
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authorize the release of such criminal background checks to the 197
MDOH and shall be responsible for the payment of any fee that the 198
Mississippi Justice Information Center of the Department of Public 199
Safety or the MDOH charges to process fingerprint-based state and 200
national criminal background checks. The Department of Public 201
Safety and the MDOH each may charge and retain a fee not to exceed 202
Sixty Dollars ($60.00) for each applicant. 203
(l) The Mississippi Justice Information Center of the 204
Department of Public Safety shall forward to the MDOH all 205
information obtained concerning the applicant. MDOH will not 206
disseminate the information and will only use such information as 207
required to fulfill the purposes of this act. 208
(2) A medical cannabis establishment may not employ any 209
person who: 210
(a) Was convicted of a disqualifying felony offense; or 211
(b) Is under twenty-one (21) years of age. 212
(3) The operating documents of a medical cannabis 213
establishment must include procedures for the oversight of the 214
medical cannabis establishment and procedures to ensure accurate 215
record keeping and adequate security measures. 216
(4) A medical cannabis establishment shall implement 217
appropriate security measures designed to deter and prevent the 218
theft of medical cannabis and unauthorized entrance into areas 219
containing medical cannabis. 220
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(5) All cultivation, harvesting, processing and packaging of 221
medical cannabis must take place in an enclosed, locked and secure 222
facility with a physical address provided to the MDOH during the 223
licensing and registration process. The facility shall be 224
equipped with locks or other security devices that permit access 225
only by agents of the medical cannabis establishment, emergency 226
personnel or adults who are twenty-one (21) years of age and older 227
and who are accompanied by medical cannabis establishment agents. 228
(6) No medical cannabis establishment other than a cannabis 229
processing facility or cannabis research facility may produce 230
cannabis concentrates, cannabis extractions, or other cannabis 231
products. 232
(7) A medical cannabis establishment may not share office 233
space with or refer patients to a practitioner. 234
(8) Medical cannabis establishments are subject to 235
inspection by the MDOR and MDOH during business hours. 236
(9) Before medical cannabis may be dispensed to a 237
cardholder, a dispensary agent must: 238
(a) Require that the individual present a registry 239
identification card; 240
(b) Make a diligent effort to verify that the registry 241
identification card presented to the dispensary is valid; 242
(c) Make a diligent effort to verify that the person 243
presenting the registry identification card is the person 244
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identified on the registry identification card presented to the 245
dispensary agent; and 246
(d) Not believe that the amount of medical cannabis 247
dispensed would cause the person to possess more than the 248
allowable amount of medical cannabis. 249
(10) A medical cannabis establishment shall not sell more 250
than the allowable amount of medical cannabis to a cardholder. A 251
resident cardholder shall not obtain more than a total of 252
twenty-four (24) MMCEUs of allowable medical cannabis in thirty 253
(30) days from a dispensary or a combination of dispensaries. 254
The possession limit for resident cardholders of the 255
allowable amount of medical cannabis shall be a total of 256
twenty-eight (28) MMCEUs. There shall not be a possession limit 257
on nonconsumable medical cannabis, including, but not limited to, 258
suppositories, ointments, soaps, and lotions or other topical 259
agents. 260
(11) For purposes of this chapter, total THC is defined as 261
THCA multiplied by .877 plus THC Delta 9 and all other 262
psychoactive forms or isomers of THC added together. A medical 263
cannabis establishment shall not sell cannabis flower or trim that 264
has a potency of greater than thirty percent (30%) total THC. A 265
medical cannabis dispensary shall not sell cannabis tinctures, 266
oils or concentrates that have a potency of greater than sixty 267
percent (60%) total THC. Cannabis products that have a potency of 268
over thirty percent (30%) total THC shall be clearly labeled as 269
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"extremely potent." Edible cannabis products, including food or 270
drink products, that have been combined with usable cannabis or 271
cannabis products shall be physically demarked and labeled with a 272
clear determination of how much total THC is in a single-serving 273
size and how much THC is in the entire package. 274
A medical cannabis product shall contain a notice of harm 275
regarding the use of cannabis products. Edible cannabis products 276
shall be homogenized to ensure uniform disbursement of 277
cannabinoids throughout the product. All molded edible cannabis 278
products shall be presented in the form of geometric shapes and 279
shall not be molded to contain any images or characters designed 280
or likely to appeal to minors, such as cartoons, toys, animals or 281
children. 282
(12) A dispensary may not dispense more than the allowable 283
amount of cannabis to a registered qualifying patient or a 284
nonresident cardholder, directly or via a registered designated 285
caregiver. Dispensaries shall ensure compliance with this 286
limitation by maintaining internal, confidential records that 287
include records specifying how much medical cannabis is being 288
dispensed to the registered qualifying patient or nonresident 289
cardholder and whether it was dispensed directly to a registered 290
qualifying patient, nonresident cardholder or to the registered 291
designated caregiver. A dispensary may dispense medical cannabis 292
directly to a registered designated caregiver on behalf of a 293
registered qualifying patient, and the registered qualifying 294
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patient does not need to be present with the registered designated 295
caregiver when the caregiver is purchasing the medical cannabis 296
from the dispensary. 297
(13) A nonresident cardholder shall not obtain more than a 298
total of six (6) MMCEUs of allowable medical cannabis in a week 299
from a dispensary or a combination of dispensaries. A nonresident 300
cardholder shall not obtain more than a total of twelve (12) 301
MMCEUs of allowable cannabis from a dispensary or a combination of 302
dispensaries in a fifteen-day period. 303
(14) A nonresident may apply to receive a nonresident 304
registry identification card up to thirty (30) days before 305
arriving in Mississippi. A nonresident registry identification 306
card shall be valid for fifteen (15) days. After the expiration 307
of the card, a nonresident may apply for a renewal of the card and 308
may be granted another card which shall be valid for another 309
fifteen-day period. A nonresident registry identification card 310
shall only be valid, at a maximum, for two (2) separate periods of 311
fifteen (15) days in a three-hundred-sixty-five-day period. An 312
applicant may indicate on his or her application the specific time 313
period that he or she wishes for the card to be valid. The 314
possession limit of the allowable amount of medical cannabis for 315
nonresident cardholders shall be fourteen (14) MMCEUs. 316
(15) A medical cannabis dispensary agent or employee shall 317
not issue a written certification. Employees and agents of a 318
medical cannabis dispensary shall complete at least eight (8) 319
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hours of continuing education in medical cannabis as regulated by 320
the MDOR in order to be certified to work at a medical cannabis 321
dispensary. After the first year of employment, these employees 322
shall complete five (5) hours of continuing education in medical 323
cannabis annually to maintain this certification. 324
(16) Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, a 325
patient with a debilitating medical condition who is between 326
eighteen (18) years to twenty-five (25) years of age is not 327
eligible for a medical cannabis registry identification card 328
unless two (2) practitioners from separate medical practices have 329
diagnosed the patient as having a debilitating medical condition 330
after an in-person consultation. One (1) of these practitioners 331
must be a physician or doctor of osteopathic medicine. 332
If one (1) of the recommending practitioners is not the 333
patient's primary care practitioner, the recommending practitioner 334
shall review the records of a diagnosing practitioner. The 335
requirement that the two (2) practitioners be from separate 336
medical practices does not apply if the patient is homebound or if 337
the patient had a registry identification card before the age of 338
eighteen (18). 339
(17) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a medical 340
cannabis establishment shall not allow an individual who is 341
younger than twenty-one (21) years old to enter the premises of 342
the establishment unless the individual possesses a registry 343
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identification card and is accompanied by his or her legal 344
guardian. 345
(18) A medical cannabis establishment shall only purchase, 346
grow, cultivate, and use cannabis that is grown and cultivated in 347
this state. Any medical cannabis that is grown and cultivated in 348
this state shall not be transported outside of this state. 349
(19) Employees of all medical cannabis establishments shall 350
apply for a work permit with the MDOH and MDOR, as applicable, 351
before beginning employment with any establishment. The licensing 352
agency for the respective medical cannabis establishment may issue 353
work permits to these individuals. These licensing agencies shall 354
maintain a work registry of all applicants and work permits 355
issued. The fee for a work permit shall be Twenty-five Dollars 356
($25.00) and the permit shall be valid for five (5) years. Work 357
permits shall be the property of the employee and shall not be 358
transferable to other employees. 359
(20) For purposes of this subsection, "plant growth 360
regulator cannabis" shall mean a cannabis plant whose growth and 361
structure has been modified using plant growth hormones. A 362
cannabis cultivation facility shall not cultivate and a cannabis 363
dispensary shall not sell, transfer or provide for consumption 364
plant growth regulator cannabis. 365
(21) A medical cannabis dispensary shall only make sales to 366
cardholders inside the dispensary. A medical cannabis dispensary 367
shall not sell or otherwise convey medical cannabis to a 368
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ST: Medical cannabis; dispensary may sell
directly to the designated caregiver without the
qualifying patient being present.
cardholder through the means of a drive-through, curbside delivery 369
or other delivery outside the premises of the dispensary. Any 370
topical cannabis product that is purchased by a dispensary from a 371
licensed processor, and that is not ingested by the liver, may be 372
sold to a cardholder or any person over the age of twenty-one (21) 373
years old who is not a cardholder. Such products shall be placed 374
in an area of the dispensary that does not require access with a 375
registry identification card. 376
(22) Any and all contracts or agreements entered into by the 377
MDOH and MDOR for information technology software, hardware, 378
and/or services for the purpose of implementing and/or operating 379
under the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act shall include language 380
reasonably limiting the ability of the vendor to escalate the 381
ongoing cost of such software, hardware, and/or services during 382
the term of the contract, including any amendments and/or 383
extensions. 384
(23) The MDOR and MDOH shall not share the name, address or 385
personal data of a registry identification cardholder to any 386
federal government entity. 387
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from 388
and after July 1, 2026. 389