MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2026 Regular Session
To: Public Health and Human Services
By: Representative Hobgood-Wilkes
AN ACT TO PROHIBIT INDIVIDUALS, CORPORATIONS AND OTHER ENTITIES FROM ADVERTISING AND MARKETING MEDICAL CANNABIS IN ANY MEDIA WITHIN THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI OR ADVERTISING MEDICAL CANNABIS IN ANY MANNER THAT CAN BE VIEWABLE OR OTHERWISE PERCEIVED AS A PUBLIC SPACE WITHIN THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI; TO REQUIRE THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO RECEIVE AND INVESTIGATE COMPLAINTS OF VIOLATIONS OF THIS PROVISION, AND TAKE SUCH LEGAL ACTIONS AS NECESSARY TO ENFORCE COMPLIANCE WITH THIS PROVISION; TO AMEND SECTION 41-137-39, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROHIBIT MEDICAL CANNABIS ESTABLISHMENTS AND PERSONS OR ENTITIES ACTING ON THEIR BEHALF FROM ADVERTISING AND MARKETING IN ANY MEDIA OR ADVERTISING IN ANY MANNER THAT CAN BE VIEWABLE OR OTHERWISE PERCEIVED AS A PUBLIC SPACE; TO AMEND SECTION 41-137-41, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PRECEDING PROVISION; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. (1) As used in this section, the term "advertising" means all representations disseminated in any manner or by any means for the purpose of inducing, or which are likely to induce, directly or indirectly, the purchase of medical cannabis.
(2) An individual, corporation or other entity is prohibited from (a) advertising and marketing medical cannabis in any media, including, but not limited to, broadcast or electronic media, print media or other types or forms of media, within the State of Mississippi; (b) advertising medical cannabis in any manner that can be viewable or otherwise perceived as a public space within the State of Mississippi, including, but not limited to, electronic or nonelectronic highway signs and billboards.
(3) The Attorney General shall receive and investigate complaints of violations of this section, and if the investigation shows that an individual, corporation or other entity is violating this section, the Attorney General shall take such legal actions against the individual, corporation or other entity as necessary to enforce compliance with this section.
(4) This section shall not be applicable to medical cannabis establishments licensed in Mississippi and persons or entities acting on their behalf, but medical cannabis establishments and persons or entities acting on their behalf shall be subject to the prohibitions in Section 41-137-39(24).
SECTION 2. Section 41-137-39, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-137-39. (1) (a) The MDOH shall obtain criminal records background checks on all persons applying to become a licensee, an agent, or representative as defined herein, of a medical cannabis establishment. This shall include performing criminal records background checks on all potential employees, current employees, or representatives/agents of the MDOH Medical Cannabis Program. The required criminal history background check includes information provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(b) For the purposes of this section, an applicant is any person who registers with or applies for an initial medical cannabis work permit, or a renewal of a medical cannabis work permit. Such a person or applicant may also be defined as an agent, an employee, a representative, etc., as further defined and sometimes used interchangeably as referenced in this section.
(c) For purposes of this section, an agent is a person who acts for or on behalf of, or who represents a medical cannabis establishment while in the course of business or employment with the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Program and may also be referred to as an agent, a representative, or vice versa.
(d) Representative means a principal officer, owner of ten percent (10%) or greater economic interest in a medical cannabis establishment with direct or indirect interest, officer, director, manager, employee, agent, volunteer, or other type of representative of a registered medical cannabis licensee establishment.
(e) Principal officer means a person(s) who has ultimate responsibility for implementing the decisions of a cannabis testing facility or other such medical cannabis establishment and includes, but is not necessarily limited to, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Administrative Office (CAO), Chief Financial Officer, (CFO), as applicable. Elected or appointed, the board as a whole creates agency policies and oversees the agency's managerial positions.
(f) Board member means an individual on a medical cannabis establishment's company or agency board which serves as an organization's governing body.
(g) Principal owner means the primary owner of a medical cannabis establishment, but often may be the sole owner.
(h) Any and every person/applicant seeking to become an owner or principal owner, principal officer, or officer, board member, director, manager, agent/representative, employee, care giver, or volunteer of a medical cannabis establishment shall apply for, or authorize the MDOH to obtain state and national criminal background checks to be conducted by the Mississippi Justice Information Center of the Department of Public Safety and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
(i) Such criminal background checks shall conform to the applicable federal standards and shall include the taking of fingerprints.
(j) Once the Mississippi Justice Information Center of the Department of Public Safety completes a state level criminal history background check, they will forward the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal history background check.
(k) The person seeking to become an agent/representative of a medical cannabis establishment shall authorize the release of such criminal background checks to the MDOH and shall be responsible for the payment of any fee that the Mississippi Justice Information Center of the Department of Public Safety or the MDOH charges to process fingerprint-based state and national criminal background checks. The Department of Public Safety and the MDOH each may charge and retain a fee not to exceed Sixty Dollars ($60.00) for each applicant.
(l) The Mississippi Justice Information Center of the Department of Public Safety shall forward to the MDOH all information obtained concerning the applicant. MDOH will not disseminate the information and will only use such information as required to fulfill the purposes of this act.
(2) A medical cannabis establishment may not employ any person who:
(a) Was convicted of a disqualifying felony offense; or
(b) Is under twenty-one (21) years of age.
(3) The operating documents of a medical cannabis establishment must include procedures for the oversight of the medical cannabis establishment and procedures to ensure accurate record keeping and adequate security measures.
(4) A medical cannabis establishment shall implement appropriate security measures designed to deter and prevent the theft of medical cannabis and unauthorized entrance into areas containing medical cannabis.
(5) All cultivation, harvesting, processing and packaging of medical cannabis must take place in an enclosed, locked and secure facility with a physical address provided to the MDOH during the licensing and registration process. The facility shall be equipped with locks or other security devices that permit access only by agents of the medical cannabis establishment, emergency personnel or adults who are twenty-one (21) years of age and older and who are accompanied by medical cannabis establishment agents.
(6) No medical cannabis establishment other than a cannabis processing facility or cannabis research facility may produce cannabis concentrates, cannabis extractions, or other cannabis products.
(7) A medical cannabis establishment may not share office space with or refer patients to a practitioner.
(8) Medical cannabis establishments are subject to inspection by the MDOR and MDOH during business hours.
(9) Before medical cannabis may be dispensed to a cardholder, a dispensary agent must:
(a) Require that the individual present a registry identification card;
(b) Make a diligent effort to verify that the registry identification card presented to the dispensary is valid;
(c) Make a diligent effort to verify that the person presenting the registry identification card is the person identified on the registry identification card presented to the dispensary agent; and
(d) Not believe that the amount of medical cannabis dispensed would cause the person to possess more than the allowable amount of medical cannabis.
(10) A medical cannabis establishment shall not sell more than the allowable amount of medical cannabis to a cardholder. A resident cardholder shall not obtain more than a total of twenty-four (24) MMCEUs of allowable medical cannabis in thirty (30) days from a dispensary or a combination of dispensaries.
The possession limit for resident cardholders of the allowable amount of medical cannabis shall be a total of twenty-eight (28) MMCEUs. There shall not be a possession limit on nonconsumable medical cannabis, including, but not limited to, suppositories, ointments, soaps, and lotions or other topical agents.
(11) For purposes of this chapter, total THC is defined as THCA multiplied by .877 plus THC Delta 9 and all other psychoactive forms or isomers of THC added together. A medical cannabis establishment shall not sell cannabis flower or trim that has a potency of greater than thirty percent (30%) total THC. A medical cannabis dispensary shall not sell cannabis tinctures, oils or concentrates that have a potency of greater than sixty percent (60%) total THC. Cannabis products that have a potency of over thirty percent (30%) total THC shall be clearly labeled as "extremely potent." Edible cannabis products, including food or drink products, that have been combined with usable cannabis or cannabis products shall be physically demarked and labeled with a clear determination of how much total THC is in a single-serving size and how much THC is in the entire package.
A medical cannabis product shall contain a notice of harm regarding the use of cannabis products. Edible cannabis products shall be homogenized to ensure uniform disbursement of cannabinoids throughout the product. All molded edible cannabis products shall be presented in the form of geometric shapes and shall not be molded to contain any images or characters designed or likely to appeal to minors, such as cartoons, toys, animals or children.
(12) A dispensary may not dispense more than the allowable amount of cannabis to a registered qualifying patient or a nonresident cardholder, directly or via a registered designated caregiver. Dispensaries shall ensure compliance with this limitation by maintaining internal, confidential records that include records specifying how much medical cannabis is being dispensed to the registered qualifying patient or nonresident cardholder and whether it was dispensed directly to a registered qualifying patient, nonresident cardholder or to the registered designated caregiver.
(13) A nonresident cardholder shall not obtain more than a total of six (6) MMCEUs of allowable medical cannabis in a week from a dispensary or a combination of dispensaries. A nonresident cardholder shall not obtain more than a total of twelve (12) MMCEUs of allowable cannabis from a dispensary or a combination of dispensaries in a fifteen-day period.
(14) A nonresident may apply to receive a nonresident registry identification card up to thirty (30) days before arriving in Mississippi. A nonresident registry identification card shall be valid for fifteen (15) days. After the expiration of the card, a nonresident may apply for a renewal of the card and may be granted another card which shall be valid for another fifteen-day period. A nonresident registry identification card shall only be valid, at a maximum, for two (2) separate periods of fifteen (15) days in a three-hundred-sixty-five-day period. An applicant may indicate on his or her application the specific time period that he or she wishes for the card to be valid. The possession limit of the allowable amount of medical cannabis for nonresident cardholders shall be fourteen (14) MMCEUs.
(15) A medical cannabis dispensary agent or employee shall not issue a written certification. Employees and agents of a medical cannabis dispensary shall complete at least eight (8) hours of continuing education in medical cannabis as regulated by the MDOR in order to be certified to work at a medical cannabis dispensary. After the first year of employment, these employees shall complete five (5) hours of continuing education in medical cannabis annually to maintain this certification.
(16) Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, a patient with a debilitating medical condition who is between eighteen (18) years to twenty-five (25) years of age is not eligible for a medical cannabis registry identification card unless two (2) practitioners from separate medical practices have diagnosed the patient as having a debilitating medical condition after an in-person consultation. One (1) of these practitioners must be a physician or doctor of osteopathic medicine.
If one (1) of the recommending practitioners is not the patient's primary care practitioner, the recommending practitioner shall review the records of a diagnosing practitioner. The requirement that the two (2) practitioners be from separate medical practices does not apply if the patient is homebound or if the patient had a registry identification card before the age of eighteen (18).
(17) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a medical cannabis establishment shall not allow an individual who is younger than twenty-one (21) years old to enter the premises of the establishment unless the individual possesses a registry identification card and is accompanied by his or her legal guardian.
(18) A medical cannabis establishment shall only purchase, grow, cultivate, and use cannabis that is grown and cultivated in this state. Any medical cannabis that is grown and cultivated in this state shall not be transported outside of this state.
(19) Employees of all medical cannabis establishments shall apply for a work permit with the MDOH and MDOR, as applicable, before beginning employment with any establishment. The licensing agency for the respective medical cannabis establishment may issue work permits to these individuals. These licensing agencies shall maintain a work registry of all applicants and work permits issued. The fee for a work permit shall be Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) and the permit shall be valid for five (5) years. Work permits shall be the property of the employee and shall not be transferable to other employees.
(20) For purposes of this subsection, "plant growth regulator cannabis" shall mean a cannabis plant whose growth and structure has been modified using plant growth hormones. A cannabis cultivation facility shall not cultivate and a cannabis dispensary shall not sell, transfer or provide for consumption plant growth regulator cannabis.
(21) A medical cannabis dispensary shall only make sales to cardholders inside the dispensary. A medical cannabis dispensary shall not sell or otherwise convey medical cannabis to a cardholder through the means of a drive-through, curbside delivery or other delivery outside the premises of the dispensary. Any topical cannabis product that is purchased by a dispensary from a licensed processor, and that is not ingested by the liver, may be sold to a cardholder or any person over the age of twenty-one (21) years old who is not a cardholder. Such products shall be placed in an area of the dispensary that does not require access with a registry identification card.
(22) Any and all contracts or agreements entered into by the MDOH and MDOR for information technology software, hardware, and/or services for the purpose of implementing and/or operating under the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act shall include language reasonably limiting the ability of the vendor to escalate the ongoing cost of such software, hardware, and/or services during the term of the contract, including any amendments and/or extensions.
(23) The MDOR and MDOH shall not share the name, address or personal data of a registry identification cardholder to any federal government entity.
(24) Medical cannabis establishments licensed under this chapter and persons or entities acting on their behalf are prohibited from (a) advertising and marketing in any media, including, but not limited to, broadcast or electronic media, print media or other types or forms of media; (b) advertising in any manner that can be viewable or otherwise perceived as a public space, including, but not limited to, electronic or nonelectronic highway signs and billboards.
SECTION 3. Section 41-137-41, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
41-137-41. (1) From and after February 2, 2022, the MDOH and MDOR shall each, where relevant to the role of that particular agency, establish and promulgate the following rules and regulations:
(a) Governing the manner in which it shall consider petitions from the public to add debilitating medical conditions or treatments to the list of debilitating medical conditions set forth in Section 41-137-3, including public notice of and opportunities to comment in public hearings on the petitions;
(b) Establishing the form and content of license and renewal applications and written certifications submitted under this chapter;
(c) Governing the manner in which it shall consider applications for and renewals of registry identification cards, which may include creating a standardized written certification form;
(d) Governing medical cannabis establishments with the goals of ensuring the health and safety of registered qualifying patients and preventing diversion and theft of medical cannabis without imposing an undue burden or compromising the confidentiality of cardholders, including:
(i) Oversight requirements;
(ii) Recordkeeping requirements;
(iii) Qualifications that are directly and demonstrably related to the operation of medical cannabis establishments;
(iv) Security requirements, including lighting, physical security, and alarm requirements;
(v) Health and safety regulations, including restrictions on the use of pesticides, herbicides or other chemicals that are injurious to human health;
(vi) Standards for the processing of cannabis products and the indoor cultivation of cannabis by cannabis cultivation facilities;
(vii) Requirements for the transportation and storage of cannabis by medical cannabis establishments;
(viii) Employment and training requirements, including requiring that each medical cannabis establishment create an identification badge for each agent of the establishment;
(ix) Standards for the safe processing of medical cannabis products, including extracts and concentrates;
(x) Restrictions on the advertising, signage, and display of medical cannabis consistent with the prohibitions in Section 41-137-39(24), provided that the restrictions may not prevent appropriate signs on the property of a dispensary, listings in business directories, including phone books, listings in cannabis-related or medical publications, display of cannabis in company logos and other branding activities, display on dispensary websites of pictures of products that the dispensary sells, or the sponsorship of health or not-for-profit charity or advocacy events;
(xi) Requirements and procedures for the safe and accurate packaging and labeling of medical cannabis, including prohibiting the use of any images designed or likely to appeal to minors, such as cartoons, packaging that resembles popular candy brands, toys, animals or children, or any other likeness or image containing characters or phrases to advertise to minors;
(xii) Standards for cannabis testing facilities, including requirements for equipment and qualifications for personnel;
(xiii) Protocol development for the safe delivery of medical cannabis from dispensaries to cardholders;
(xiv) Reasonable requirements to ensure the applicant has sufficient property or capital to operate the applicant's proposed medical cannabis establishment;
(xv) Procedures for suspending or terminating the licenses or registry identification cards of cardholders and medical cannabis establishments that commit multiple or serious violations of the provisions of this chapter or the rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to this section;
(xvi) Procedures for the selection, certification and oversight of a seed-to-sale tracking system as provided for in Section 41-137-11;
(xvii) Requirements for labeling medical cannabis and cannabis products, including requiring medical cannabis product labels to include the following:
1. The length of time it typically takes for the product to take effect;
2. Disclosure of ingredients and possible allergens;
3. A nutritional fact panel;
4. The amount of THC and CBD in the product;
5. A notice of the potential harm caused by consuming medical cannabis; and
6. For edible cannabis products, when practicable, a standard symbol indicating that the product contains cannabis;
(xviii) Procedures for the registration of nonresident cardholders, which must require the submission of:
1. A practitioner's statement confirming that the patient has a debilitating medical condition; and
2. Documentation demonstrating that the nonresident cardholder is allowed to possess medical cannabis or cannabis preparations in the jurisdiction where he or she resides;
(xix) The amount of cannabis products, including the amount of concentrated cannabis, each cardholder and nonresident cardholder can possess;
(xx) Reasonable application and renewal fees for registry identification cards and registration certificates, according to the following:
1. The fee schedule shall be set as follows:
a. The qualifying patient registry identification card application fee shall be Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00);
b. The designated caregiver registry identification card application fee shall be Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00);
c. The designated caregiver criminal background fee shall be Thirty-seven Dollars ($37.00);
d. The fee for a renewal or replacement of a card shall be Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00);
e. The fee for a card for a nonresident patient shall be Seventy-five Dollars ($75.00);
f. The qualifying patient registry identification card application fee for a Medicaid participant shall be Fifteen Dollars ($15.00) and the fee for a renewal of such card shall be Fifteen Dollars ($15.00); and
g. The application fee for a qualifying patient registry identification card for disabled veterans or disabled first responders shall be waived. A disabled veteran or first responder may prove their disability by providing written documentation from their practitioner attesting to their debilitating medical condition, documentation from the Social Security Disability Office, or documentation that attests the applicant is a one-hundred percent (100%) disabled veteran as determined by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs and codified at 38 CFR, Section 3.340(a)(2013); and
2. The MDOH may accept donations from private sources to reduce the amount of the application and renewal fees;
(xxi) Any other rules and regulations necessary to implement and administer this chapter.
(2) The initial rules filed by the MDOH to implement the medical cannabis program in accordance with this chapter shall be effective immediately upon their filing.
(3) No state agency, political subdivision or board shall implement any rule, regulation, policy, or requirement that is contrary to the provisions of the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act.
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2026.