Mississippi Code 1972 (2023) › Title 41 - PUBLIC HEALTH (§§ 41-1-1 — 41-149-NEW-003) › Chapter 137 - MISSISSIPPI MEDICAL CANNABIS ACT (§§ 41-137-1 — 41-137-67) › Section 41-137-7 - General responsibilities of departments

(1)
The MDOH shall have the ultimate authority for oversight of the administration of the medical cannabis program, and the MDOH shall coordinate the activities of the MDOH and MDOR under the provisions of this chapter in order to best effectuate the purpose and intent of this chapter.
(2)
The MDOH may contract with other governmental agencies and public or private third parties to assist the MDOH with carrying out any of the responsibilities delegated to the MDOH under this section. However, the MDOH shall be ultimately responsible for the performance of any responsibilities that are exercised by any agency or third party with which the MDOH has contracted under the authority of this section.
(3)
The MDOH shall be responsible for:
(a)
The licensing, oversight and inspection of cannabis testing facilities and cannabis research facilities;
(b)
The licensing of cannabis cultivation facilities, cannabis processing facilities, cannabis transportation entities and cannabis disposal entities;
(c)
The application and licensing of registry identification cards for qualifying patients and designated caregivers;
(d)
The registering of practitioners in accordance with this chapter; and
(e)
The selection, certification and oversight of the statewide seed-to-sale tracking system as provided for in Section
41-137-11
.
(4)
Unless otherwise provided herein, the MDOR shall be responsible for the licensing, inspection and oversight of medical cannabis dispensaries.
(5)
The MDOR and MDOH shall accept applications for and award licenses according to their respective duties as provided for in this chapter, subject to the following:
(a)
After one hundred twenty (120) days from February 2, 2022, the MDOH shall begin accepting applications, registering and licensing registry identification cards and practitioners.
(b)
After one hundred twenty (120) days from February 2, 2022, the MDOH shall begin licensing and registering cannabis cultivation facilities, cannabis processing facilities, cannabis testing facilities, cannabis research facilities, cannabis disposal entities and cannabis transportation entities. After one hundred fifty (150) days from February 2, 2022, the MDOR shall issue licenses for medical cannabis dispensaries as provided for in this chapter within thirty (30) days of receipt of the application from an applicant or within thirty (30) days after the initial one-hundred-fifty-day period, whichever is the later date.
(6)
The MDOR and MDOH shall issue a registration certificate and a random ten-digit alphanumeric identification number to each licensed medical cannabis establishment, as applicable.
(7)
After one hundred twenty (120) days from February 2, 2022, the MDOH shall issue licenses according to their respective duties as provided for in this chapter within thirty (30) days of receipt of the application from an applicant or within thirty (30) days after the initial one-hundred-twenty-day period, whichever is the later date. After one hundred fifty (150) days from February 2, 2022, the MDOR shall issue licenses according to their respective duties as provided for in this chapter within thirty (30) days of receipt of the application from an applicant or within thirty (30) days after the initial one-hundred-fifty-day period, whichever is the later date.
(8)
It is the intent of the Legislature that the MDOH and MDOR and any other state agency, as needed, shall cooperate and collaborate together to accomplish the purposes of this chapter.
(9)
(a)
Subject to paragraph (b) of this subsection, the Department of Public Safety shall not be involved in or have any role regarding the administration, regulation or oversight of the medical cannabis program established under this chapter; however, this provision does not prohibit the department from carrying out any law enforcement activities that a law enforcement agency may exercise under this chapter or that the department may exercise under the authority of any other law.
(b)
The Department of Public Safety may assist the MDOH in conducting background checks of individuals as required under this chapter.
Added by Laws, 2022, ch. 303, SB 2095,§ 4, eff. 2/2/2022.