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Industry group presents growth figures, urges lifting potency caps and longer patient certifications
Summary
Henry Chrisler of 3MA told the Medical Cannabis Advisory Committee that active patient counts have risen to about 61,592 while licensed entities fell to 373; he proposed removing potency caps, allowing 24‑month patient cards and easing vape testing rules, and said 3MA has drafted bills for the 2026 session.
Henry Chrisler, director of 3MA, told the Medical Cannabis Advisory Committee that Mississippi’s medical cannabis market has seen steady patient growth even as the number of licensed entities has declined. "The active patient count as of today is 61,592," Chrisler said during an industry update, and he noted the program now lists 373 licensed entities, down from 386 a year earlier.
Chrisler framed several policy recommendations he said 3MA will pursue in the 2026 legislative session. He proposed removing the state’s 60% potency cap on concentrates and the 30% cap on flower, arguing the limits force patients to consume more product and pay more while not improving safety. "By having an arbitrary limit on potency, you're not preventing people from getting higher — you're just forcing them to spend more money and smoke more cannabis, which is objectively bad for their health," Chrisler said.
He also recommended allowing practitioners to issue 24‑month patient cards (currently 12 months) and reconsidering the statutory six‑month follow‑up requirement for patients. Chrisler said an analysis shared with the committee showed roughly a 10% drop in active patient status by six months and about a 45% drop by 12 months, a trend he said may reflect access barriers in counties without certifying practitioners.
On operational issues, Chrisler urged regulators to permit research‑and‑development (R&D) pesticide and heavy‑metal testing so producers can spot‑check components before producing full batches, and he asked for more practical guidance on vape hardware testing. He said some manufacturers do not publish disassembly instructions and that requiring labs to disassemble sealed hardware risks contaminating test samples; Chrisler suggested allowing submission of hardware components separately for testing.
Chrisler said 3MA has drafted bill language and shared it with legislative contacts, and he asked the committee to consider those proposals at the next meeting. The Department of Health and the Department of Revenue were praised for program transparency, including a public portal Chrisler cited as useful for tracking patient and license trends.
The committee did not vote on the proposals at the meeting; members asked for supporting data and planned to review written recommendations at their next meeting, scheduled provisionally for Dec. 4 at 1:30 p.m.
