A.
Certification Generally
(i) Practitioners must be authorized and
registered with the Mississippi State Department of Health to certify patients
as eligible to obtain cannabis for medical use. No person shall be authorized
to use medical cannabis in this state unless the person (a) has been diagnosed
by a practitioner, with whom the person has a bona fide practitioner-patient
relationship within his or her scope of practice, as having a debilitating
medical condition for which the practitioner believes, in his or her
professional opinion, that the person would likely receive medical or
palliative benefit from the medical use of medical cannabis to treat or
alleviate the person's debilitating medical condition or symptoms associated
with the person's debilitating medical condition, (b) has received a written
certification of that diagnosis from the practitioner, and (c) has been issued
a registry identification card from the MDOH under Section
41-137-23. A person who has been
diagnosed by a practitioner as specified in paragraph (a) of this subsection
shall be a qualifying patient, and the practitioner who has diagnosed the
patient shall document that diagnosis with a written certification. However,
nothing herein shall require a practitioner to issue a written
certification.
(ii) A written
certification shall:
(a) Affirm that it is
made in the course of a bona fide practitioner-patient relationship;
(b) Remain current for twelve (12) months,
unless the certifying practitioner specifies a shorter period of
time;
(c) Be issued only after an
in-person assessment of the patient by the certifying practitioner;
(d) Only be issued on behalf of a minor when
the minor's parent or guardian, as defined in the Act, provides signed consent;
and
(e) Be limited to the allowable
amount of cannabis in a thirty-day period.
After a practitioner has issued a written certification to a
qualifying patient, a practitioner may assist the patient in registering for a
registry identification card with the Department of Health, in a manner
provided by regulations of the Department of Health.
After a qualifying patient receives a written certification
from a practitioner, the patient shall be required to make a follow-up visit
with the practitioner not less than six (6) months after the date of issuance
of the certification for the practitioner to evaluate and determine the
effectiveness of the patient's medical use of medical cannabis to treat or
alleviate the patient's debilitating medical condition or symptoms associated
with the patient's debilitating medical condition. Qualifying patients may make
a follow-up visit with a different practitioner than the practitioner who
originally issued their written certification, provided that such practitioner
is otherwise registered and acting within their scope of practice and the
provisions of this chapter.
B.
Pediatric Certifications
Only physicians (Medical Doctors [MD] or Doctors of
Osteopathic Medicine [DO]) may issue written certifications to registered
qualifying patients who are minors (younger than eighteen (18) years of
age).
A certifying practitioner may not issue a written
certification to a qualifying patient who is younger than eighteen (18) years
of age unless:
(a) The qualifying
patient's practitioner has explained the potential risks and benefits of the
medical use of medical cannabis to the custodial parent or legal guardian with
responsibility for health care decisions for the qualifying patient;
and
(b) The custodial parent or
legal guardian with responsibility for health care decisions for the qualifying
patient consents in writing to:
(i)
Acknowledge the potential harms related to the use of medical
cannabis;
(ii) Allow the qualifying
patient's medical use of medical cannabis;
(iii) Serve as the qualifying patient's
designated caregiver; and
(iv)
Control the acquisition of the medical cannabis, the dosage and the frequency
of the use of medical cannabis by the qualifying patient.
C.
Young Adult
Certifications
Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, a
patient with a qualifying 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 qualifying condition after an
in-person consultation. One (1) of these practitioners must be a physician
(Medical Doctor [MD] or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine [DO]).
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).
Notes
30
Miss. Code. R. 2640-2.3
Miss. Code
Ann. §
73-43-11 (1972, as amended); Miss.
Code Ann. §
41-137-5 (2002, as amended March
27, 2023); Miss. Code Ann. §
41-137-9 (2022, as amended March
27, 2023); Miss. Code Ann. §
41-137-23 (2022, as amended March
27, 2023).
Adopted
8/26/2022
Amended
1/2/2024
