The Mississippi State Department of Health provided updates on the state’s medical cannabis program on Thursday, shedding new light on the status of the program and when dispensaries will begin operations.

Kris Jones Adcock, director of the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Program, said the state has issued licenses to 47 cultivators, eight processors, three disposal entities, two testing facilities, four transportation entities, 138 dispensaries, 117 practitioners, 491 work permits and 406 patients as of Thursday.

The state has issued a total of seven licenses to businesses in Lafayette County, including six dispensaries. 

CannaMiss, LLC; Southern Crop Wellness IV, LLC; Hybrid, LLC; Magnolia Medical Cannabis Company, LLC; AES Enterprises and Star Buds Oxford all received licenses to operate dispensaries in recent months, while Magnolia State Agriculture, LLC received a license to operate a cultivation facility.

Adcock said expectations are that dispensaries will begin opening doors in early December with product hitting the shelves later in the month or in early January.

Dr. Daniel Edney, who serves as the State Health Officer for MSDH, said the state is making changes to the program as they go along, but stressed that he wants to see how it runs before making unnecessary changes.

“There certainly are things that we can tweak going forward but I favor… [giving] the program a year at all levels from seed to sale and let’s watch how it’s working,” Dr. Edney said. “Let’s let it continue to mature and let’s make thoughtful changes and not reactionary changes. I think if we give it some time a lot of problems will work themselves out. We’re very flexible and open to regulatory changes as long as it does not increase the risk of diversion or impact public safety.”