Former Governor joins healthcare professionals to launch testing facility in new medicalmarijuana program for Mississippi.  

Former Mississippi Governor Ronnie Musgrove will is joining an executive hospital team to form Magnolia Tech Labs. This new business will be a state of the art testing facility service for the state’s new medical marijuana industry.

Beginning yesterday, the Mississippi Department of Health opened applications for growers, dispensaries, and testing facilities to operate in the medical marijuana business. These applications are required to be filed in order to receive certification.

It may not seem like a big deal to the millions of Americans living in legal cannabis states, but Wednesday is huge for medical marijuana supporters in Mississippi. June 1 is the first day for medical marijuana patients to submit their applications for a card in the Magnolia State. Businesses will also be able to apply for licenses. (Benzinga)

It’s been well over a month since the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act was signed into law.

However, potential cannabis growers in Mississippi are hesitant on how to proceed in growing their product.

Ambiguity in the signed legislation doesn’t specify if greenhouses are considered indoor or outdoor grow.

The difference is outdoor grow is strictly prohibited under the law.

“We fought so hard for these last two years, over two years, to get something passed,” said Zack Wilson with We are the 74.

“Here we are, we have something passed, and now it’s another set of hurdles.”

Wilson, a resident of Byhalia, has been planning on building greenhouses for months, already setting up the framework for one on his property.

“I think that’s going to have ripple effects for the whole state … That’s additional money in the budget. I know that’s the hope, that they can create new tax dollar revenue to give back to the people.” 

DeAundrea Delaney built a hemp empire in Mississippi, but her sights have long been set on opening one of the state’s first medical marijuana dispensaries. 

As Delaney, 42, waited for Mississippi’s medical marijuana program to clear legislative hurdles, she set up a foundation selling what she legally could: products with hemp-extract cannabidiol, or CBD. Hemp is marijuana’s cousin — cannabis without the high. 

A pair of Mississippi brothers continue making progress on a multi-million dollar cannabis growing facility in Canton.

The founder of Kudzu Cannabis, Jared Kobs, took a risk when he purchased the twenty-two acres in Madison County before medical marijuana was even signed into law.

“We did take a little chance and a little bit of a risk to try and get out in front of everybody, but we wanted to be rolling,” he said.

Now that it’s been legalized, the Magnolia State native is looking to be among the first to have product hit the shelves.

“It’s very important that Mississippi is not last on this,” he said.

“It’s going to bring great revenues and great jobs to the state.”

Rarely are we able to combine the Grateful Dead and Mississippi in the same sentence, but the band once said, what a long strange trip it’s been. In November 2020, Mississippi voters overwhelmingly approved Initiative Measure No. 65, a citizen-driven ballot initiative. Initiative Measure No. 65 would have amended the Mississippi Constitution to create a state medical marijuana program. However, on May 14, 2021, the Mississippi Supreme Court overturned Initiative Measure No. 65, ruling that the state election law governing voter ballot initiatives was out-of-date and unworkable.

Mississippi is legalizing medical marijuana for people with debilitating conditions such as cancer, AIDS and sickle cell disease.

Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed the legislation Wednesday and it became law immediately. It could be months before the first marijuana dispensaries open.

"There is no doubt that there are individuals in our state who could do significantly better if they had access to medically prescribed doses of cannabis," Reeves wrote in a statement posted to Twitter.

"There are also those who really want a recreational marijuana program that could lead to more people smoking and less people working, with all the societal and family ills that that brings."

Cancer patients, people with epilepsy, and other terminal illnesses may soon qualify for medical marijuana cards in Mississippi. Lawmakers in the Senate and House both passed final votes on the bill yesterday with veto-proof majorities. The program should be active in around four months, though it may take longer to finish growing crops. Ken Newburger, Executive Director of the Mississippi Medical Marijuana Association, says this program will help residents who need cannabis to live better lives. And he says it has the added benefit of introducing a new industry to the state.

When, or if, the Senate approves the changes and Gov. Reeves signs the bill, the program regulating and selling cannabis to registered patients will kick off later this year.

The Mississippi House of Representatives passed an amended version of the Senate’s medical marijuana bill on Wednesday, lowering the amount of cannabis a patient can purchase each month.

What Happened

The measure was approved on a 104–14 vote. The changes addressed concerns raised by Gov. Tate Reeves (R), who repeatedly called for lawmakers to lower the amount, Marijuana Moment reported.

Registered patients would be subject to purchase limits that would restrict them to no more than 3.5 grams of cannabis flower, 1 gram of concentrate, or up to 100 milligrams of THC in infused products.

A new bill to legalize medical marijuana was introduced in Mississippi on Tuesday and on Wednesday afternoon, the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee approved the measure by a voice vote. The bill is expected to be taken up on the floor as soon as Thursday, reported Marijuana Moment. A medical cannabis program could start in 2022.