Maggie Scott

Levi Sheppard, a father of six from Brandon, Miss., contracted encephalitis years ago, which prompted a seizure and put him in a coma for more than a month. He was left paralyzed and had to learn how to walk, talk and care for himself all over again. 

Sheppard’s recovery regime included many seizure medications, which led him to lose his appetite and eventually become malnourished. He credits cannabis with helping him regain his appetite and better manage his hectic life. 

“With having six kids, they drive me crazy. I have four teenagers and two little ones, so it kind of helps with my anxiety a little bit. I can just go with the flow,” Sheppard said.

Sheppard’s access to medical marijuana in Mississippi came after years of effort from advocates. The process began with Initiative 65, a 2020 ballot initiative that aimed to legalize cannabis for those with qualifying medical conditions.

Despite receiving strong voter support, the Mississippi Supreme Court overturned the initiative in May 2021, citing issues with the state’s initiative process, which delayed the program’s progress for months. 

Eventually, Mississippi lawmakers worked to create a path forward, and in early 2022, Gov. Tate Reeves signed the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act into law. The act established a regulated medical marijuana program for patients who qualified, with oversight managed by the Mississippi State Department of Health.

The program officially began accepting applications in late 2022, and the first patient received medical cannabis in Jan. 2023. As of October 2024, 47,533 patients are eligible for the drug, according to the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Program.

Sheppard said the new law has helped him access safe and effective treatment, but the program falls short when it comes to educating patients. 

“I wish the doctors were more knowledgeable about it as to what strand and what to get that would help you,” Sheppard said. “But I guess they leave that up to the (medical marijuana) dispensary.” 

Dr. Kirk Kinard, a pain management specialist who operates eight “Pause Pain and Wellness” practices across the state, said there is much room for improvement nearly two years into the program. 

“(The program) has such a better chance to succeed when your practitioner is educated, but the educational points are lacking,” Kinard said.

Currently there are just over 200 practitioners who are eligible to provide medical cannabis certifications in the state. Mississippi requires practitioners to complete eight hours of continuing medical education (CME) for certification, along with an extensive application process. 

Practitioners must also be registered with the Mississippi Department of Health and their respective licensing boards. Following initial certification, a practitioner must earn five additional hours of CME annually.

Angie Calhoun, CEO of the MCPA, said her organization is working to bridge the information gap for practitioners and users.

“There is a great dearth of education,” Calhoun said. “There is not enough that has been put out to help the patients.” 

MCPA has found that patients often rely on medical marijuana dispensary workers for guidance,  yet most of these workers lack knowledge about appropriate strains or proper dosage. Calhoun hopes that the university’s recently established National Center for Cannabis Research and Education will play a key role in getting information to patients and providers.

“Research studies will help to explore the hows and whys and dosaging …  and how medical cannabis is actually working for patients because, you know, we really don’t have a true dosing mechanism, and there are just so many unknowns,” Calhoun said.

In the meantime, both Kinard and MCPA are working to help patients navigate the system. At Kinard’s practices, his staff has required readings on medical marijuana and even hosts a book club. They also have monthly staff meetings where they review patient cases to improve guidance on proper dosages based on specific disorders and illnesses. MCAP also has strategies for informing the state’s users of medical marijuana.

“(We) have built a robust website that even has a chatbot that can help the patients with any questions, but it is built to decipher and break down more easily any information that the patients need to know about the law and the rules and regulations set forth by the Department of Health,” Calhoun said. 

For now, Kinard said, both patients and practitioners have to educate themselves.

“Do your own homework. Do your research. Don’t use 50 years of prejudice and bias,” Kinard said. “Get out of your shell. Break out of the box. And make yourself informed.” 

Editors Note: The headline of this article was changed to “practitioner” from “prescriber” as doctors certify patients as eligible for rather than prescribe medical marijuana. A statistic about the number of medical marijuana patients was also updated to reflect the number from the Mississippi Medical Cannabis program, rather than a previously reported number from the Clarion Ledger.