In the gift-giving spirit of the season, the Mississippi Department of Health has dropped proposed additions and revisions to the agency’s regulations for medical cannabis cultivators, processors, testing facilities, transportation entities, disposal entities, and regarding work permits, advertising and marketing, and registry/ID cards. The public can address the proposed changes via the department’s public comment
Regulations/Compliance
Change (May) Come at Last? Biden Announces Review of Marijuana Scheduling and Mass Pardons for Simple Marijuana Possession
Yesterday, President Joe Biden made two historic announcements which he described as steps to “end” the federal government’s “failed approach” to marijuana. First, he is issuing mass pardons for federal convictions of simple marijuana possession and has encouraged governors to do the same for state-level marijuana offenses. Second, President Biden ordered Secretary of Health and…
Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission Approves Rules for Cannabis Operators
Last week, following a six-week notice and comment period, the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission voted to approve the previously released proposed rules. This is an important step in keeping the program on the timetable set by the commission. One caveat: We don’t know what the commission approved.
Prior to the vote, the commission stated that…
Assessing the Playing Field After Mississippi’s Medical Cannabis Opt-Out Deadline Expires
May 4th celebrates Star Wars, and May 5th is Cinco de Mayo. While not as popular, May 3rd still likely means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. But, in Mississippi, in 2022, May 3rd was a date circled on many calendars. As the first of several significant milestones…
Don’t Tell Me This Town Ain’t Got No Heart: Mississippi’s Attorney General Opines on a City’s Ability to Regulate Medical Cannabis Businesses
What promises to be the first of a litany of legal interpretations of the new Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act (MMCA), Attorney General Lynn Fitch released an official attorney general’s opinion on April 15, 2022, regarding the scope of a municipality’s ability to locally regulate medical cannabis establishment operations through zoning or ordinances. Fitch, applying a…
Navigating the Cannabis Fog: Litigation Ensues Over Legality of Delta-8 and Delta-10
The stratospheric rise of products containing ∆8-tetrahydrocannabinol (Delta-8 THC) and ∆10-tetrahydrocannabinol (Delta-10 THC), both of which can cause psychoactive effects similar to ∆9-THC (the substance codified as “marihuana” by the federal Controlled Substances Act), have raised questions regarding these products’ legality under federal and state law. Recent litigation developments have indicated a possible trend toward…
Mississippi Releases Proposed Medical Cannabis Dispensary Regulations: Get Movin’
The Mississippi Department of Revenue (MDOR) released information on Friday, April 15, regarding the licensing and operations of dispensaries under the medical cannabis regime in Mississippi. We feel like a broken record, but as more and more information is revealed, it becomes more and more evident that entities wanting to obtain a license as soon as…