30 Miss. Code. R. 2640-2.2 - Definitions

For the purposes of Part 2640, Chapter 2, the following terms have the meanings indicated:

A. Bona fide practitioner-patient relationship means:

(i) A practitioner and patient have a treatment or consulting relationship, during the course of which the practitioner, within his or her scope of practice, has completed an in-person assessment of the patient's medical history and current mental health and medical condition and has documented their certification in the patient's medical file;

(ii) The practitioner has consulted in person with the patient with respect to the patient's debilitating medical condition; and

(iii) The practitioner is available to or offers to provide follow-up care and treatment to the patient.

B. Cannabis means all parts of the plant of the genus cannabis, the flower, the seeds thereof, the resin extracted from any part of the plant and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture or preparation of the plant, its seeds or its resin, including whole plant extracts. Such term shall not mean cannabis-derived drug products approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration under Section 505 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

C. For the purposes of this Chapter, Practitioner means a physician or physician assistant who is licensed to prescribe medicine under the licensing requirements of the Boards and the laws of this state. In relation to a nonresident cardholder, the term means a physician or physician assistant who is licensed to prescribe medicine under the licensing requirements of their respective occupational boards and under the laws of the state or territory in which the nonresident patient resides. For registered qualifying patients who are minors, "practitioner" shall mean a physician or doctor of osteopathic medicine who is licensed to prescribe medicine under the licensing requirements of the Board and the laws of this state.

D. Chronic pain means a pain state in which the cause of the pain cannot be removed or otherwise treated, and which in the generally accepted course of medical practice, no relief or cure of the cause of the pain is possible, or none has been found after reasonable efforts by the certifying practitioner.

E. Debilitating medical condition means:

(i) Cancer, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, muscular dystrophy, glaucoma, spastic quadriplegia, positive status for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), hepatitis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, sickle-cell anemia, Alzheimer's disease, agitation of dementia, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), autism, pain refractory to appropriate opioid management, diabetic/peripheral neuropathy, spinal cord disease or severe injury, or the treatment of these conditions;

(ii) A chronic, terminal or debilitating disease or medical diagnosis, or its treatment, that produces one or more of the following: cachexia or wasting syndrome, chronic pain, severe or intractable nausea, seizures, or severe and persistent muscle spasms, including, but not limited to, those characteristic of multiple sclerosis; or

(iii) Any other serious medical condition or its treatment added by the Mississippi Department of Health, as provided for in Section 41-137-17.

F. Medical use includes the acquisition, administration, cultivation, processing, delivery, harvest, possession, preparation, transfer, transportation, or use of medical cannabis or equipment relating to the administration of medical cannabis to treat or alleviate a registered qualifying patient's debilitating medical condition or symptoms associated with the patient's debilitating medical condition. The term "medical use" does not include:

(i) The cultivation of cannabis unless the cultivation is done by a cannabis cultivation facility; or

(ii) the extraction of resin from cannabis by mechanical or chemical extraction unless the extraction is done by a cannabis processing facility.

G. Qualifying Condition means any condition as described and defined in Section 41-137-3(r) and R.1.2(E) of this Chapter.

H. Qualifying Patient means a person who has been diagnosed by a practitioner as having a debilitating medical condition as described and defined in Section 41-137-3(r)(1) and has been issued a written certification, or who is eligible to receive such certification, under Section 41-137-5.

I. Scope of practice means the defined parameters of various duties, services or activities that may be provided or performed by a physician as authorized under Section 73-25-33, or by a physician assistant under Section 73-26-5, and the rules and regulations adopted by the Board for those practitioners.

J. Written Certification means a form approved by the Mississippi State Department of Health, signed and dated by a practitioner, certifying that a person has a debilitating medical condition. A written certification shall include the following:

(i) The date of issue and the effective date of the recommendation;

(ii) The patient's name, date of birth and address;

(iii) The practitioner's name, address, and federal Drug Enforcement Agency number; and

(iv) The practitioner's signature.

Notes

30 Miss. Code. R. 2640-2.2

Miss. Code Ann. § 73-43-11 (1972, as amended); Miss. Code Ann. § 41-137-3 (2022, as amended March 27, 2023).

Adopted 8/26/2022 Amended 1/2/2024