On February 2, 2022, Republican Governor Tate Reeves signed the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act (Act), which legalizes medical marijuana for the treatment of certain debilitating conditions. Those debilitating conditions include, among others, cancer, Parkinson’s disease, HIV/AIDs, sickle cell anemia, Alzheimer’s disease, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and autism. The law became effective immediately, making Mississippi the 37th state to legalize medical marijuana.

To legally obtain medical marijuana a person must have: (1) been diagnosed by a licensed medical practitioner, with whom they have a bona fide practitioner-patient relationship, as having a qualifying medical condition for which the practitioner believes the person would receive medical or palliative benefits from medical marijuana; (2) received a written certification of that diagnosis from the practitioner; and (3) been issued a registry identification card from the Mississippi State Department of Health.

Although medical marijuana is now legal, the Act contains a number of employer-friendly provisions:

• Employers are not required to permit, allow, or accommodate the use of medical marijuana or modify any working conditions for an employee who engages in the use of medical marijuana.
• The Act does not prohibit employers from refusing to hire, discharging, or otherwise disciplining employees because of their medical marijuana use—regardless of whether the individual was impaired or not.
• Employers may...

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