In order to certify that a patient has one of the qualifying debilitating medical conditions mandated for medical marijuanas treatment in Laurel Mississippi, doctors, physicians, certified nurse practitioners, physician assistants, or optometrists must be a credentialed and MSDH-approved medical marijuanas doctor.
Mississippi has made legal the use of marijuanas for medical patients in Laurel Mississippi who meet the 22 main debilitating medical conditions. In February 2022, The Mississippi State Legislature passed the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act which established the first medical marijuana program in Mississippi.
The new bill reflects key features of Initiative 65, which was approved by more than 74% of Mississippi voters last November, including broad access for patients, decision rights for certifying doctors, a free market, and sustainable revenue models and reasonable regulations.
Patients in Laurel MS who are looking to become certified medicinal cannabis patients must:
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*After you receive your certification from a credentialed and certified medicinal marijuana healthcare provider, then you will apply for your Registry ID Card with the MSDH.
**Registry ID cards will come from the Mississippi Department of Health (MSDH).
The Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act (MMCA) allows patients in Laurel MS who have one of the 22 qualifying medical conditions to be certified by an MSDH-credentialed medical cannabis physician. Qualifying patients will be issued a written certification which, along with the patient’s application for a medical cannabis Registry Identification Card, will be sent to the Mississippi Department of Health (MSDH). After a patient has been certified by a credentialed and MSDH-approved medical cannabis physician as having a qualifying debilitating medical condition, patients will then need to go to the MSDH Medical Cannabis Program Portal to complete their application. Within 30 days of their application being completed and successfully submitted via the portal, patients will receive an email from the Mississippi Department of Health stating whether or not their application has been approved.
If you are interested in scheduling an appointment with a credentialed & MSDH-approved medical cannabis practitioner, you can click here to find a certified medical marijuana doctor near you in Laurel MS.
Medical cannabis is the use of marijuana plants and chemicals to treat certain conditions. It is basically the same thing as recreational marijuanas, but for medicinal use. The marijuana plant has more than 100 cannabinoids, and each one has a different impact on the body.
Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) are the main chemicals used in marijuana medicine found in Laurel, as THC produces the “high” that people feel when they smoke or consume medical marijuanas, meanwhile CBD does not give the user the experience of being “high”.
The reason for this is because the u.s. Drug Enforcement Administration, (DEA), considers cannabis to be a Schedule I substance. They also believe it is likely to be used in a way that is harmful. Marcel Bonn Miller (ph.d.) is a University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine expert in substance abuse states that this is the reason it is necessary to obtain a special license for cannabis research.
That may not change anytime in the near future. Although the DEA looked at reclassifying cannabis to an Schedule II drug (such as Ritalin or Oxycodone) it chose to keep cannabis it is a Schedule I drug. The agency did, however accept to fund further research into cannabis and to make the process easier for researchers.
"Research is critically needed because we have to be able to advise patients and doctors on the safe and effective use of cannabis," Bonn-Miller states.
Every state has laws that regulate medicinal cannabis use, including Laurel Mississippi. However, more than two-thirds of u.s. states and the District of Columbia have already approved medical marijuana for treatment and are currently considering bills to legalize it as well.
In order to certify that a patient has a qualifying debilitating medical condition needed for medical cannabis treatment in Mississippi, physicians, certified nurse practitioners, physician assistants, or optometrists must be credentialed and MSDH-approved medical cannabis practitioners.
Yes. As with any medication, be open with your physicians and your pharmacist about medical marijuana, and any other medications that you may be taking or are considering taking, to ensure that you have all the information you need regarding any potential interactions between your prescriptions.
If you are interested in scheduling an appointment with a credentialed & MSDH-approved medical cannabis practitioner, please view our listed practitioner's page.
When meeting with a prescribing physician, you should bring: A valid picture ID Proof to verify your debilitating or chronic qualifying medical condition is required. The more verifiable proof you can bring, the better. Some things you should try to bring with you include:
However, you can still obtain certification if you don’t have any current medical documents. Your physician in Laurel MS will be able to go over alternatives with you during your consultation.
The amount of time that each appointment will take, will vary on a case-by-case basis, and will be dependent on your medical history, the amount of supporting documents you bring, etc. However, the average appointment in Laurel will typically last around 15-30 minutes.