After getting off to a slow start, Mississippi’s medical marijuana program is beginning to see an uptick in patients getting cards.
According to Representative Lee Yancey, R-Brandon, roughly two or three percent of a participating state’s population typically registers for a medical marijuana card. In Mississippi, that would total around 60,000 cardholders.
Mississippi currently has 14,000 medical marijuana patients, but Yancey says the number of cardholders is steadily increasing as more businesses begin to open dispensaries throughout the state.
“It’s climbing. We’ve got a lot of companies out there who have invested lots of money to come here and to put this program in place,” Yancey said on MidDays with Gerard Gibert. “They are counting on that patient count increasing, and it is.”
Yancey anticipates that there will be future modifications made to the state’s medical marijuana program, which was signed into law in February 2022, to increase a potential patient’s ability to become a cardholder.
Nevertheless, the representative emphasizes that product is only available for Mississippians facing illnesses and not a means for people to abuse the substance for the purpose of enjoying it recreationally.
“We do not want to see this product being sold on the black market. We don’t want to see people who are just using it to get high,” Yancey continued. “This is for sick people and we’re going to regulate it as such.”
Watch the full interview with Yancey below.
