Qualifying Conditions for Medical Marijuana Card in Mississippi

How Many Medical Conditions Qualify for Medical Marijuana Treatment in Mississippi?

Mississippi identifies 25 chronic or debilitating medical conditions as qualifying for medical cannabis treatment. These include 20 diseases and 5 outcomes of such illnesses or their treatments.

Qualifying Conditions for Medical Card in Mississippi 2023

The Mississippi Medical Cannabis Program (MMCP) recognizes the following medical conditions, and their treatments, as qualifying for its medical marijuana card:

• Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
• Agitation of dementia
• Alzheimer's disease
• Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
• Autism
• Cancer
• Crohn's disease
• Diabetic/peripheral neuropathy
• Glaucoma
• Hepatitis
• Huntington's disease
• Muscular dystrophy
• Pain unmanageable with opioid management
• Parkinson's disease
• Positive status for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)
• Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Sickle-cell anemia
• Spastic quadriplegia
• Spinal cord disease or severe injury
• Ulcerative colitis

In addition to these, Mississippi also recognizes as qualifying any chronic or debilitating condition, or its treatment, that causes one or more of the following symptomatic outcomes:

• Cachexia or wasting syndrome
• Chronic pain
• Severe or intractable nausea
• Seizures
• Severe and persistent muscle spasms including those presenting with multiple sclerosis

Does Mississippi Add New Qualifying Conditions to its Medical Marijuana Program?

Yes. The Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act made provisions for expanding the state’s list of qualifying medical conditions for medical cannabis access. According to this Act, residents of the state can submit petitions to add new qualifying conditions to the Department of Health. The state’s medical marijuana law mandates the Department to review and deny or approve such a petition within 60 days of submission.

Does Mississippi Allow Physicians to Recommend Medical Cannabis for Non-Qualifying Conditions?

No. Eligible medical practitioners can only recommend medical cannabis for patients diagnosed with one or more of the conditions identified as qualifying for medical marijuana use in Mississippi. Patients who believe their debilitating conditions should qualify them for medical cannabis can submit petitions to add these conditions to the state’s approved list.

Do You Need a Doctor’s Recommendation for Medical Marijuana in Mississippi?

Yes. Mississippi requires patients applying for its medical marijuana card to be certified for medical cannabis use by their medical practitioners. Only practitioners who have chosen to participate in the MMCP can recommend medical marijuana in the state. A searchable database of eligible recommending medical providers is available on the website of the Mississippi Cannabis Patients Alliance. Approved certifying medical practitioners include Mississippi-licensed physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and optometrists.

Who Qualifies for a Medical Marijuana Card in Mississippi?

Mississippi does not have a residency or age requirement for its medical marijuana card. Adults and minors diagnosed with qualifying debilitating conditions can apply for the state’s medical cannabis card. However, a minor can only be certified for medical cannabis in Mississippi by a physician (Doctor of Medicine or Doctor of Osteopathy). A minor must also have the consent of their primary custodial parent or legal guardian who must serve as their caregiver.

Mississippi requires non-residents applying for its medical marijuana card to be diagnosed with qualifying medical conditions in their home states by medical practitioners eligible to certify patients for medical cannabis treatment. Non-residents can apply for Mississippi medical cannabis cards 30 days before arriving in the state. Non-resident medical cannabis cards are valid for only 15 days.