JACKSON — The Mississippi Cannabis Patients Alliance is proud to announce a collaborative agreement with the University of Mississippi and the Releaf App.

For many decades, robust research-based data collection and analysis of medical cannabis outcomes have been lacking. This new research program will help the industry, regulators, practitioners, and, most importantly, patients by providing evidence of what products may work best for certain debilitating medical conditions and much more. With their participation, Mississippi patients, research sponsors, and dispensaries can help Mississippi make history by participating in medical cannabis research studies.

Through this partnership, participating patients can record their experiences in an easy-to-use app. The reporting system will allow data collection on purchases, use, and patient-reported outcomes, while protecting the privacy of the patient. These non-patient identifiable data will be uploaded to allow research on medical cannabis by scientists at the University of Mississippi. This research will allow health professionals, manufacturers, dispensaries, and patients to gain valuable knowledge on how well various medical cannabis products can provide relief in various conditions.

Angie Calhoun, Founder and CEO of the Mississippi Cannabis Patients Alliance, said “This agreement represents a significant step forward via a proprietary system that only patients in Mississippi can use. The University of Mississippi, Releaf App, and MCPA are offering a safe and effective platform for patients to report their results in a way that will assist future patients, while gaining valuable knowledge for themselves, and providing the industry and researchers with information about medical cannabis use, outcomes and so much more.”

“We at the University of Mississippi are excited about the potential of this program to understand details of medical cannabis product use and outcomes under our state program. We believe this will lay the groundwork for more robust research programs here and nationwide,” said Dr. Larry Walker, interim director of the National Center for Cannabis Research and Education (NCCRE) at the School of Pharmacy, University of Mississippi.

“Some states have tried to implement a state-wide medical cannabis research program, but have fallen short of the promised outcome,” said Tyler Dautrich, COO at MoreBetter, the creators of Releaf App. “Together with MCPA and the University of Mississippi, we can engage all the industry stakeholders in Mississippi to implement a true seed-to-outcome research program providing continuous real-world data and research insights to the Mississippi medical cannabis community.”

With this announcement and partnership, the MCPA, Releaf App, and the University of Mississippi are positioning Mississippi as the leading medical cannabis program globally. The MCPA is advocating for the Mississippi legislature to allocate funding in this legislative session for medical cannabis research and development to continue to push Mississippi as a leader in medical advancement for patients.