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Parkinson's Disease and cannabis in Mississippi

The state explicitly lists this condition under its medical cannabis program. A certifying physician can pursue state registration for a patient with this diagnosis under the program rules.

Listed qualifying condition
✓ Yes
LEGAL
Up to 3.5 g cannabis-eq…
POSSESSION
$25/yr
STATE FEE
3–14 d
TIMELINE
Listed qualifying condition. The state explicitly lists this condition under its medical cannabis program. A certifying physician can pursue state registration for a patient with this diagnosis under the program rules.

Mississippi statute and program

The Mississippi Medical Cannabis Program is the operating authority for Mississippi patient certification. The authoritative legal text is: Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act: Senate Bill 2095 of 2022 (codified at Miss. Code Ann. §41-137-1 et seq.). The program portal is at Mississippi Medical Cannabis Program.

What the evidence says about cannabis and Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder caused by the loss of dopamine-producing neurons in the substantia nigra. Cardinal motor symptoms include resting tremor, bradykinesia, rigidity, and postural instability. Non-motor symptoms (sleep disturbance, depression, anxiety, autonomic dysfunction, cognitive change) often precede motor onset and contribute substantially to disease burden.

For the full evidence base, including the NASEM tier, randomized trial summaries, and symptom-domain breakdown, read the mmjnow Parkinson's Disease page.

How to qualify in Mississippi

The Mississippi Medical Cannabis Program requires the following registration steps for a Parkinson's Disease patient (or any qualifying diagnosis):

  1. See a Mississippi-licensed practitioner registered with the MMCP. Under the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act (SB 2095, 2022), a Mississippi-licensed physician, NP, PA, or optometrist who has completed the MSDH Medical Cannabis Program (MMCP) practitioner education course may certify a patient. Qualifying conditions under §41-137-3 include cancer, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, MS, ALS, seizures, Crohn’s, ulcerative colitis, sickle-cell, Alzheimer’s, autism, cachexia, severe nausea, chronic and debilitating pain, PTSD, severe intractable pain, and opioid-use disorder.
  2. Apply through the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Program portal. The practitioner submits the written certification electronically. The patient then completes the online registration in the MMCP patient portal with a Mississippi driver license or state ID and a passport-style photo. Caregivers are registered through the same portal and pass a state and federal background check.
  3. Pay the $25 state registration fee. The annual Mississippi MMCP patient registry card fee is $25 (caregiver registration is also $25). Veterans, Medicaid patients, and patients with terminal illness pay a reduced fee of $15. Fees are paid online through the MMCP portal at registration.
  4. Receive the registry card and purchase from a Mississippi dispensary. Mississippi MMCP registry cards are typically issued within five business days of complete application. With the card, patients may purchase up to 3 Mississippi Medical Cannabis Equivalency Units per week from any of the licensed Mississippi dispensaries. Mississippi does not honor out-of-state medical cards. Cards renew annually with a fresh practitioner certification.
State registration fee
$25
Physician visit (typical)
$200–$350
Certification to card
3–14 days
Out-of-state patients
Not eligible
Minors
Eligible with caregiver

For full Mississippi registration steps, fees, and reciprocity rules, see the Mississippi cannabis-laws page.

ICD-10 code

A certifying physician documenting Parkinson's Disease for the Mississippi medical cannabis program will typically record ICD-10 G20 or SNOMED-CT 49049000 in the patient's record. The state registry does not itself collect ICD-10 codes in most programs, but the physician's chart is the audit trail if the certification is later reviewed.

Frequently asked questions

Does Mississippi list Parkinson's Disease as a qualifying condition for medical cannabis?

Yes. Mississippi explicitly lists Parkinson's Disease as a qualifying condition under Mississippi Medical Cannabis Program. A patient with a documented Parkinson's Disease diagnosis can pursue state-program certification with a physician registered in the state. The qualifying-condition list is published by the state at https://mmcp.ms.gov/ and may change as regulators add, remove, or refine entries. Inclusion on the list does not guarantee certification — a physician still has to evaluate the patient and decide that medical cannabis is appropriate for that specific case under Mississippi rules.

How do I get a Mississippi medical marijuana card for Parkinson's Disease?

Step one is finding a physician licensed in Mississippi who is registered with Mississippi Medical Cannabis Program and willing to evaluate Parkinson's Disease cases. Step two is collecting your records (diagnosis documentation, treatment history, and the ICD-10 code your physician will use) and bringing them to the certification visit. Step three is the physician's certification through the state registry, followed by the patient registration application, state fee, and waiting period before the card is issued. Mississippi does not honor out-of-state cards, so the certification process has to originate inside the state. Verify the patient minimum age with the state program before applying. The authoritative source for the current process is the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Program site at https://mmcp.ms.gov/; the state updates fees, forms, and physician registration rules periodically.

What does the evidence say about cannabis for Parkinson's Disease?

For Parkinson's Disease, evidence is described as limited (a small number of supportive studies, often underpowered or focused on narrow symptom domains). The mmjnow condition page for Parkinson's Disease lays out the current evidence base, including the citations underlying that evidence tier — typically the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine consensus reports, federal agency guidance, and peer-reviewed reviews. Evidence quality is independent of state law: a state can list a condition for which evidence is limited, and a state can decline to list a condition for which evidence is strong. Patients deciding whether to pursue medical cannabis for Parkinson's Disease should review the underlying evidence (linked on the condition page) and discuss expected benefit, dosing, and risk with a clinician familiar with both Parkinson's Disease and cannabinoid pharmacology. Cannabis is not a substitute for evidence-based first-line treatments for Parkinson's Disease; the evidence position above describes whether trial data supports its use, not whether it should replace standard care.

Sources

  1. Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act: Senate Bill 2095 of 2022 (codified at Miss. Code Ann. §41-137-1 et seq.)accessed May 16, 2026
  2. Mississippi State Department of Health: Medical Cannabis Programaccessed May 16, 2026
  3. Mississippi Department of Revenue: Cannabis Equivalency Unitaccessed May 16, 2026
  4. Wikipedia: Cannabis in Mississippiaccessed May 16, 2026
  5. Miss. Code Ann. §41-29-139: Prohibited acts; penalties (controlled substances)accessed May 18, 2026
  6. In re Initiative Measure No. 65 v. Watson, 333 So. 3d 558 (Miss. 2021)accessed May 18, 2026
  7. Mississippi Legislature bill trackeraccessed May 18, 2026
  8. NORML: Mississippi Laws & Penaltiesaccessed May 18, 2026
  9. Marijuana Policy Project: Mississippiaccessed May 18, 2026
  10. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2017): The Health Effects of Cannabis and Cannabinoidsaccessed May 18, 2026
  11. Parkinson's Foundation: Cannabis Use in Parkinson's Diseaseaccessed May 15, 2026