JACKSON, Mississippi: Joining 36 other U.S. states, Mississippi legalized marijuana for medical use on February 2, after Governor Tate Reeves signed legislation permitting cannabis for treatment of severe, debilitating health conditions, including cancer, AIDS and Alzheimer’s disease.

Announcing enactment of the bill, Reeves, a first-term Republican, said the final version passed last week by the Republican-controlled legislature aimed to curb recreational marijuana use by allowing patients to obtain no more than 3 ounces of cannabis per month, or 3.5 grams a day.

The new law becomes effective immediately.

The new limit would result in “hundreds of millions of fewer joints on the streets” compared with the original, more permissive version of the bill, Reeves said.

Under the new law, individuals can only legally obtain medical marijuana if they are diagnosed with one of the qualifying conditions, including cancer, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, muscular dystrophy, Alzheimer’s, autism, post-traumatic stress disorder and severe injury.

The measure also permits cannabis to be prescribed for any “pain state in which the cause of the pain cannot be removed or otherwise treated.”

The bill requires a licensed healthcare professional with whom patients have a bona fide relationship to provide a written certification, and an in-person office visit must be done to obtain such certification.

Also, only a physician can prescribe for young adults between the ages of 18 and 25, and parental consent is required for minors.

In November 2020, Mississippi voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure to establish a medical cannabis program, but it was later invalidated by the state Supreme Court.

According to the National Conference of State Legislators, Mississippi becomes the 37th of 50 American states to allow some form of medical marijuana use, despite cannabis still being classified as an illegal narcotic under U.S. federal law.

As of November, 18 states and the District of Columbia have enacted measures to regulate cannabis for non-medical use by adults.