Almost a year has passed since the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act of 2022 was signed into law, granting patients across the state the ability to be prescribed medical marijuana.
Now, after months of development from cultivators, processors, and testing facilities throughout the Magnolia State, medical marijuana is expected to become available for patients within the next few weeks.
According to Ken Newburger, executive director of the Mississippi Medical Marijuana Association, the validation process for the needed facilities is almost complete.
“Right now, we’re just waiting for the testing labs to get their green light from the Department of Health,” Newburger explained. “There’s a good bit of product grown, there are quite a few patients across the state ready to purchase it, there are a lot of places for them to purchase. It’s just that we need to get the product safely tested so they can consume it.”
Newburger continued, stating that two testing labs are currently in the process of acquiring their accreditation, while another facility should be open in 2023.
“There are some national standards that they have to adhere to, as well as some very strict state standards they need to adhere to,” Newburger said. “Getting those validated, their test method validation, to prove that they are going to consistently produce results that communicate what is in the actual product. That’s where we’re at, we’re waiting to get those green lights.”
He added that he expects medical marijuana to become available within the first month of the new year.
“I think it will be — if not next week — certainly within the next three or four weeks,” Newburger stated. “I think the target date is January 15, but we’ll see how that rolls out.”
To see the full interview, continue watching below.
