Medical cannabis; eliminate mandatory follow-up visit and extend validity periods of certification and ID cards to 24 months.

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To: Business and Commerce
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Representative Yancey

HOUSE BILL NO. 895
(As Sent to Governor)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 41-137-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 1
TO ELIMINATE THE MANDATORY SIX-MONTH FOLLOW-UP VISIT WITH THE 2
PRACTITIONER AFTER THE PATIENT RECEIVES THE CERTIFICATION; TO 3
AUTHORIZE THE PRACTITIONER TO REQUEST OR REQUIRE A FOLLOW-UP 4
EVALUATION OF THE PATIENT; TO AMEND SECTION 41-137-25, MISSISSIPPI 5
CODE OF 1972, TO EXTEND THE VALIDITY PERIOD FOR REGISTRY 6
IDENTIFICATION CARDS FOR RESIDENT DESIGNATED CAREGIVERS TO TWO 7
YEARS; TO AMEND SECTION 41-137-39, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO 8
REMOVE THE THC POTENCY LIMITS FOR CANNABIS TINCTURES, OILS AND 9
CONCENTRATES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 10
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 11
SECTION 1. Section 41-137-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 12
amended as follows: 13
41-137-5. (1) No person shall be authorized to use medical 14
cannabis in this state unless the person (a) has been diagnosed by 15
a practitioner, with whom the person has a bona fide 16
practitioner-patient relationship within his or her scope of 17
practice, as having a debilitating medical condition for which the 18
practitioner believes, in his or her professional opinion, that 19
the person would likely receive medical or palliative benefit from 20
the medical use of medical cannabis to treat or alleviate the 21
person's debilitating medical condition or symptoms associated 22
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with the person's debilitating medical condition, (b) has received 23
a written certification of that diagnosis from the practitioner, 24
and (c) has been issued a registry identification card from the 25
MDOH under Section 41-137-23. A person who has been diagnosed by 26
a practitioner as specified in paragraph (a) of this subsection 27
shall be a qualifying patient, and the practitioner who has 28
diagnosed the patient shall document that diagnosis with a written 29
certification. However, nothing herein shall require a 30
practitioner to issue a written certification. 31
(2) A written certification shall: 32
(a) Affirm that it is made in the course of a bona fide 33
practitioner-patient relationship; 34
(b) Remain current for twelve (12) months, unless the 35
practitioner specifies a shorter period of time; 36
(c) Be issued after an in-person assessment of the 37
patient by a practitioner, or after a telemedicine evaluation for 38
patients who are homebound or bedbound as certified by a 39
practitioner with whom the patient has a bona fide 40
practitioner-patient relationship within his or her scope of 41
practice other than the practitioner making the written 42
certification. For purposes of this paragraph (c), an individual 43
is homebound or bedbound if such individual is physically unable 44
to leave his or her residence without another person's aid because 45
the individual has lost the capacity of independent transportation 46
due to a medical, physical, or mental health condition or 47
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infirmity as documented in writing by a practitioner who has a 48
bona fide practitioner-patient relationship with the patient; 49
(d) Only be issued on behalf of a minor when the 50
minor's parent or guardian is present and provides signed consent; 51
and 52
(e) Be limited to the allowable amount of cannabis in a 53
thirty-day period.. 54
(3) No state agency, department, political subdivision or 55
board shall require a practitioner to require a patient to submit 56
to a drug test as a condition to receiving a certification for a 57
registry identification card. However, a practitioner may require 58
a drug test from a patient that is within his or her scope of 59
practice. 60
(4) After a practitioner has issued a written certification 61
to a qualifying patient, a practitioner may assist the patient in 62
registering for a registry identification card with the Department 63
of Health, in a manner provided by regulations of the Department 64
of Health. 65
(5) After a qualifying patient receives a written 66
certification from a practitioner, the * * * practitioner may, at 67
his or her discretion, request or require a follow-up * * * 68
evaluation to determine the effectiveness of the patient's medical 69
use of medical cannabis to treat or alleviate the patient's 70
debilitating medical condition or symptoms associated with the 71
patient's debilitating medical condition. Qualifying patients may 72
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make a follow-up visit with a different practitioner than the 73
practitioner who originally issued their written certification, 74
provided that such practitioner is otherwise registered and acting 75
within their scope of practice and the provisions of this chapter. 76
(6) Before dispensing medical cannabis to a cardholder, the 77
dispensary from which the cardholder is obtaining medical cannabis 78
shall verify the identity of the cardholder and the authority of 79
the cardholder to use medical cannabis as provided in Section 80
41-137-39 and shall determine the maximum amount of medical 81
cannabis that a cardholder is eligible to receive and the amount 82
of medical cannabis that the cardholder has received from all 83
dispensaries during a specified period of time using the statewide 84
seed-to-sale tracking system under Section 41-137-11. 85
(7) (a) A practitioner shall be registered to issue written 86
certifications to qualifying patients by completing the required 87
application process as set forth by the MDOH. The MDOH shall 88
require a practitioner to complete a minimum of eight (8) hours of 89
continuing education in medical cannabis in order to issue written 90
certifications. After the first year of registration, these 91
practitioners shall complete five (5) hours of continuing 92
education in medical cannabis annually to maintain this 93
registration. 94
(b) A practitioner shall not be required to have any 95
additional qualifications to be authorized to certify a qualifying 96
patient for a registry identification card, other than such 97
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requirements for practitioners as provided under the Mississippi 98
Medical Cannabis Act. 99
(c) A practitioner shall not be required to be 100
registered to certify patients with any state agency or board 101
other than the MDOH. 102
(8) Only physicians and doctors of osteopathic medicine may 103
issue written certifications to registered qualifying patients who 104
are minors. 105
(9) The requirements of this section shall not apply to a 106
person who is authorized to purchase topical cannabis provided 107
under Section 41-137-39( * * *21), and such persons may possess 108
and use such products without being in violation of this chapter. 109
SECTION 2. Section 41-137-25, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 110
amended as follows: 111
41-137-25. (1) Registry identification cards must contain 112
all of the following: 113
(a) The name of the cardholder; 114
(b) A designation of whether the cardholder is a 115
qualifying patient, a designated caregiver or a nonresident; 116
(c) The date of issuance and expiration date of the 117
registry identification card; 118
(d) A random ten-digit alphanumeric identification 119
number, containing at least four (4) numbers and at least four (4) 120
letters, that is unique to the cardholder; 121
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(e) If the cardholder is a designated caregiver, the 122
random identification number of the qualifying patient the 123
designated caregiver will assist; 124
(f) A photograph of the cardholder; 125
(g) The toll-free phone number or internet address 126
where the card can be verified; 127
(h) A notice of the potential harm caused by medical 128
cannabis; and 129
(i) A notice of the MMCEU daily, monthly and possession 130
limit. 131
(2) The expiration date shall be visible on the registry 132
identification card. Except as provided in subsection (3) or 133
subsection (4) of this section, the expiration date for registry 134
identification cards for residents shall be one (1) year after the 135
date of issuance, and the expiration date for registry 136
identification cards for resident designated caregivers shall be 137
two (2) years after the date of issuance. The expiration date for 138
registry identification cards for nonresidents shall be fifteen 139
(15) days after the date of issuance, except as provided in 140
subsection (4) of this section. 141
(3) If the practitioner stated in the written certification 142
that the qualifying patient would benefit from the medical use of 143
medical cannabis until a specified earlier date, then the registry 144
identification card shall expire on that date, except as provided 145
in subsection (4) of this section. 146
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(4) (a) The expiration date for registry identification 147
cards for residents that are issued not later than one hundred 148
fifty (150) days after February 2, 2022, shall be one (1) year 149
after the initial one-hundred-fifty-day period. 150
(b) If the practitioner specified an earlier date for 151
the expiration of the registry identification card as provided 152
under subsection (3) of this section, then the registry 153
identification card shall be valid for the period specified by the 154
practitioner, which shall begin after the initial 155
one-hundred-fifty-day period. 156
(c) The expiration date for registry identification 157
cards for nonresidents that are issued not later than one hundred 158
fifty (150) days after February 2, 2020, shall be fifteen (15) 159
days after the initial one-hundred-fifty-day period. 160
SECTION 3. Section 41-137-39, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 161
amended as follows: 162
41-137-39. (1) (a) The MDOH shall obtain criminal records 163
background checks on all persons applying to become a licensee, an 164
agent, or representative as defined herein, of a medical cannabis 165
establishment. This shall include performing criminal records 166
background checks on all potential employees, current employees, 167
or representatives/agents of the MDOH Medical Cannabis Program. 168
The required criminal history background check includes 169
information provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 170
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(b) For the purposes of this section, an applicant is 171
any person who registers with or applies for an initial medical 172
cannabis work permit, or a renewal of a medical cannabis work 173
permit. Such a person or applicant may also be defined as an 174
agent, an employee, a representative, etc., as further defined and 175
sometimes used interchangeably as referenced in this section. 176
(c) For purposes of this section, an agent is a person 177
who acts for or on behalf of, or who represents a medical cannabis 178
establishment while in the course of business or employment with 179
the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Program and may also be referred 180
to as an agent, a representative, or vice versa. 181
(d) Representative means a principal officer, owner of 182
ten percent (10%) or greater economic interest in a medical 183
cannabis establishment with direct or indirect interest, officer, 184
director, manager, employee, agent, volunteer, or other type of 185
representative of a registered medical cannabis licensee 186
establishment. 187
(e) Principal officer means a person(s) who has 188
ultimate responsibility for implementing the decisions of a 189
cannabis testing facility or other such medical cannabis 190
establishment and includes, but is not necessarily limited to, the 191
Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Administrative Office (CAO), 192
Chief Financial Officer, (CFO), as applicable. Elected or 193
appointed, the board as a whole creates agency policies and 194
oversees the agency's managerial positions. 195
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(f) Board member means an individual on a medical 196
cannabis establishment's company or agency board which serves as 197
an organization's governing body. 198
(g) Principal owner means the primary owner of a 199
medical cannabis establishment, but often may be the sole owner. 200
(h) Any and every person/applicant seeking to become an 201
owner or principal owner, principal officer, or officer, board 202
member, director, manager, agent/representative, employee, care 203
giver, or volunteer of a medical cannabis establishment shall 204
apply for, or authorize the MDOH to obtain state and national 205
criminal background checks to be conducted by the Mississippi 206
Justice Information Center of the Department of Public Safety and 207
the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 208
(i) Such criminal background checks shall conform to 209
the applicable federal standards and shall include the taking of 210
fingerprints. 211
(j) Once the Mississippi Justice Information Center of 212
the Department of Public Safety completes a state level criminal 213
history background check, they will forward the fingerprints to 214
the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal 215
history background check. 216
(k) The person seeking to become an 217
agent/representative of a medical cannabis establishment shall 218
authorize the release of such criminal background checks to the 219
MDOH and shall be responsible for the payment of any fee that the 220
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Mississippi Justice Information Center of the Department of Public 221
Safety or the MDOH charges to process fingerprint-based state and 222
national criminal background checks. The Department of Public 223
Safety and the MDOH each may charge and retain a fee not to exceed 224
Sixty Dollars ($60.00) for each applicant. 225
(l) The Mississippi Justice Information Center of the 226
Department of Public Safety shall forward to the MDOH all 227
information obtained concerning the applicant. MDOH will not 228
disseminate the information and will only use such information as 229
required to fulfill the purposes of this act. 230
(2) A medical cannabis establishment may not employ any 231
person who: 232
(a) Was convicted of a disqualifying felony offense; or 233
(b) Is under twenty-one (21) years of age. 234
(3) The operating documents of a medical cannabis 235
establishment must include procedures for the oversight of the 236
medical cannabis establishment and procedures to ensure accurate 237
record keeping and adequate security measures. 238
(4) A medical cannabis establishment shall implement 239
appropriate security measures designed to deter and prevent the 240
theft of medical cannabis and unauthorized entrance into areas 241
containing medical cannabis. 242
(5) All cultivation, harvesting, processing and packaging of 243
medical cannabis must take place in an enclosed, locked and secure 244
facility with a physical address provided to the MDOH during the 245
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licensing and registration process. The facility shall be 246
equipped with locks or other security devices that permit access 247
only by agents of the medical cannabis establishment, emergency 248
personnel or adults who are twenty-one (21) years of age and older 249
and who are accompanied by medical cannabis establishment agents. 250
(6) No medical cannabis establishment other than a cannabis 251
processing facility or cannabis research facility may produce 252
cannabis concentrates, cannabis extractions, or other cannabis 253
products. 254
(7) A medical cannabis establishment may not share office 255
space with or refer patients to a practitioner. 256
(8) Medical cannabis establishments are subject to 257
inspection by the MDOR and MDOH during business hours. 258
(9) Before medical cannabis may be dispensed to a 259
cardholder, a dispensary agent must: 260
(a) Require that the individual present a registry 261
identification card; 262
(b) Make a diligent effort to verify that the registry 263
identification card presented to the dispensary is valid; 264
(c) Make a diligent effort to verify that the person 265
presenting the registry identification card is the person 266
identified on the registry identification card presented to the 267
dispensary agent; and 268
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(d) Not believe that the amount of medical cannabis 269
dispensed would cause the person to possess more than the 270
allowable amount of medical cannabis. 271
(10) A medical cannabis establishment shall not sell more 272
than the allowable amount of medical cannabis to a cardholder. A 273
resident cardholder shall not obtain more than a total of 274
twenty-four (24) MMCEUs of allowable medical cannabis in thirty 275
(30) days from a dispensary or a combination of dispensaries. 276
The possession limit for resident cardholders of the 277
allowable amount of medical cannabis shall be a total of 278
twenty-eight (28) MMCEUs. There shall not be a possession limit 279
on nonconsumable medical cannabis, including, but not limited to, 280
suppositories, ointments, soaps, and lotions or other topical 281
agents. 282
(11) For purposes of this chapter, total THC is defined as 283
THCA multiplied by .877 plus THC Delta 9 and all other 284
psychoactive forms or isomers of THC added together. A medical 285
cannabis establishment shall not sell cannabis flower or trim that 286
has a potency of greater than thirty percent (30%) total THC. 287
* * * Cannabis products that have a potency of over thirty 288
percent (30%) total THC shall be clearly labeled as "extremely 289
potent." Edible cannabis products, including food or drink 290
products, that have been combined with usable cannabis or cannabis 291
products shall be physically demarked and labeled with a clear 292
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determination of how much total THC is in a single-serving size 293
and how much THC is in the entire package. 294
A medical cannabis product shall contain a notice of harm 295
regarding the use of cannabis products. Edible cannabis products 296
shall be homogenized to ensure uniform disbursement of 297
cannabinoids throughout the product. All molded edible cannabis 298
products shall be presented in the form of geometric shapes and 299
shall not be molded to contain any images or characters designed 300
or likely to appeal to minors, such as cartoons, toys, animals or 301
children. 302
(12) A dispensary may not dispense more than the allowable 303
amount of cannabis to a registered qualifying patient or a 304
nonresident cardholder, directly or via a registered designated 305
caregiver. Dispensaries shall ensure compliance with this 306
limitation by maintaining internal, confidential records that 307
include records specifying how much medical cannabis is being 308
dispensed to the registered qualifying patient or nonresident 309
cardholder and whether it was dispensed directly to a registered 310
qualifying patient, nonresident cardholder or to the registered 311
designated caregiver. 312
(13) A nonresident cardholder shall not obtain more than a 313
total of six (6) MMCEUs of allowable medical cannabis in a week 314
from a dispensary or a combination of dispensaries. A nonresident 315
cardholder shall not obtain more than a total of twelve (12) 316
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MMCEUs of allowable cannabis from a dispensary or a combination of 317
dispensaries in a fifteen-day period. 318
(14) A nonresident may apply to receive a nonresident 319
registry identification card up to thirty (30) days before 320
arriving in Mississippi. A nonresident registry identification 321
card shall be valid for fifteen (15) days. After the expiration 322
of the card, a nonresident may apply for a renewal of the card and 323
may be granted another card which shall be valid for another 324
fifteen-day period. A nonresident registry identification card 325
shall only be valid, at a maximum, for two (2) separate periods of 326
fifteen (15) days in a three-hundred-sixty-five-day period. An 327
applicant may indicate on his or her application the specific time 328
period that he or she wishes for the card to be valid. The 329
possession limit of the allowable amount of medical cannabis for 330
nonresident cardholders shall be fourteen (14) MMCEUs. 331
(15) A medical cannabis dispensary agent or employee shall 332
not issue a written certification. Employees and agents of a 333
medical cannabis dispensary shall complete at least eight (8) 334
hours of continuing education in medical cannabis as regulated by 335
the MDOR in order to be certified to work at a medical cannabis 336
dispensary. After the first year of employment, these employees 337
shall complete five (5) hours of continuing education in medical 338
cannabis annually to maintain this certification. 339
(16) Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, a 340
patient with a debilitating medical condition who is between 341
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eighteen (18) years to twenty-five (25) years of age is not 342
eligible for a medical cannabis registry identification card 343
unless two (2) practitioners from separate medical practices have 344
diagnosed the patient as having a debilitating medical condition 345
after an in-person consultation. One (1) of these practitioners 346
must be a physician or doctor of osteopathic medicine. 347
If one (1) of the recommending practitioners is not the 348
patient's primary care practitioner, the recommending practitioner 349
shall review the records of a diagnosing practitioner. The 350
requirement that the two (2) practitioners be from separate 351
medical practices does not apply if the patient is homebound or if 352
the patient had a registry identification card before the age of 353
eighteen (18). 354
(17) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a medical 355
cannabis establishment shall not allow an individual who is 356
younger than twenty-one (21) years old to enter the premises of 357
the establishment unless the individual possesses a registry 358
identification card and is accompanied by his or her legal 359
guardian. 360
(18) A medical cannabis establishment shall only purchase, 361
grow, cultivate, and use cannabis that is grown and cultivated in 362
this state. Any medical cannabis that is grown and cultivated in 363
this state shall not be transported outside of this state. 364
(19) Employees of all medical cannabis establishments shall 365
apply for a work permit with the MDOH and MDOR, as applicable, 366
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before beginning employment with any establishment. The licensing 367
agency for the respective medical cannabis establishment may issue 368
work permits to these individuals. These licensing agencies shall 369
maintain a work registry of all applicants and work permits 370
issued. The fee for a work permit shall be Twenty-five Dollars 371
($25.00) and the permit shall be valid for five (5) years. Work 372
permits shall be the property of the employee and shall not be 373
transferable to other employees. 374
(20) For purposes of this subsection, "plant growth 375
regulator cannabis" shall mean a cannabis plant whose growth and 376
structure has been modified using plant growth hormones. A 377
cannabis cultivation facility shall not cultivate and a cannabis 378
dispensary shall not sell, transfer or provide for consumption 379
plant growth regulator cannabis. 380
(21) A medical cannabis dispensary shall only make sales to 381
cardholders inside the dispensary. A medical cannabis dispensary 382
shall not sell or otherwise convey medical cannabis to a 383
cardholder through the means of a drive-through, curbside delivery 384
or other delivery outside the premises of the dispensary. Any 385
topical cannabis product that is purchased by a dispensary from a 386
licensed processor, and that is not ingested by the liver, may be 387
sold to a cardholder or any person over the age of twenty-one (21) 388
years old who is not a cardholder. Such products shall be placed 389
in an area of the dispensary that does not require access with a 390
registry identification card. 391
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ST: Medical cannabis; eliminate mandatory
follow-up visit and extend validity periods of
certification and ID cards to 24 months.
(22) Any and all contracts or agreements entered into by the 392
MDOH and MDOR for information technology software, hardware, 393
and/or services for the purpose of implementing and/or operating 394
under the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act shall include language 395
reasonably limiting the ability of the vendor to escalate the 396
ongoing cost of such software, hardware, and/or services during 397
the term of the contract, including any amendments and/or 398
extensions. 399
(23) The MDOR and MDOH shall not share the name, address or 400
personal data of a registry identification cardholder to any 401
federal government entity. 402
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from 403
and after July 1, 2026. 404