What Are The Qualifying Conditions For A Mississippi Medical Card?
Even as cannabis remains an illegal drug under federal law, individual states have taken different laws allowing patients to use marijuana. Most of them have approved it for medical use, while others have even allowed recreational use. Therefore, you have to check if your county law has this program before you start celebrating. For instance, the Mississippi State Department of Health is planning to implement a medical marijuana program.
And for a patient to qualify for Mississippi medical marijuana card, he has to have specific ailments, according to this county. Now, we shall expound further below:
These are some of the terminal diseases that a patient may have to get a medical cannabis card.
- Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
- PTSD
- Agitation of dementias
- Parkinson disease
- Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
- Autism with aggressive behaviors
- Cachexia
- Glaucoma
- Cancer
- Chronic or debilitating pain
- Crohn’s disease
- Epilepsy/ seizures
- Huntington’s disease
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)
Most people do not know that AIDS is a set of symptoms caused by HIV and not a virus on its own. The human immunodeficiency virus attacks the immune system destroying helper-T cells (a type of white cells). After this, it gets inside the cells to replicate or clone themselves there.
When a patient can no longer fight this HIV due to the weakened immune system, the term used is AIDS. They develop specific symptoms as the infection advances, which makes them uncomfortable. Although marijuana does not reverse the HIV effects, it does help relieve those symptoms that may include loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, and wasting syndrome.
Cancer
If you’re a resident of Mississippi and you have cancer, so you qualify for Mississippi medical marijuana card. But, did you know there are over 100 different types of cancer, each specified with particular cells it affects? Cancer has continued to be one of the deadliest diseases that has taken away many people. It alters cellular growth and reproduction as it forms lumps and tumors in the cells. If these go untreated, then they affect the nervous and circulatory systems.
Research carried in rats and mice suggested that cannabinoids have the potential to inhibit the growth of the tumor by:
Blocking the growth of cells and the development of blood vessels that tumors need to grow, causing apoptosis.
Other research carried on animals also showed how cannabinoids could kill cancer cells. Cannabis helps to relieve and manage symptoms related to cancer.
Chronic pain
We can’t even get the exact number of Americans suffering from chronic pain daily. It is a type of pain that can last more than six months continuously. Some of the most common ones include but are not limited to; headache or migraines, joint aches, tendinitis, back pain, acute/traumatic injury, e.t.c.
A study done on neuropathic and inflammatory origins of chronic pain found marijuana effective in relieving chronic pain. Cannabinoids, a substance in marijuana, release endogenous opioids that help to moderate the pain response system. Even as studies suggested that codeine is more effective in controlling pain than cannabis, marijuana’s side effects, compared with narcotic pain relievers, show marijuana as a safer option.
Epilepsy and seizure
Epilepsy seizures are short episodes of uncontrolled electrical activity occurring in the nervous system. Cannabidiol (CBD) is a compound found in marijuana with high levels in hemp, which is ideal for treating an epileptic patient. It’s a great substance that helps control the spasms that are associated with this condition.
Epidiolex was the first CBD-based drug approved by the FDA for Dravet syndrome (a rare form of intractable epilepsy) in June 2018. That’s why patients with this medical condition qualify for Mississippi medical marijuana card and several other states.
Glaucoma
What is Glaucoma? It’s a disease affecting or damages the eye’s optic nerve. Once the pressure from intraocular fluid accumulates behind the retina, Glaucoma affects the optical system and might lead to blindness. It’s more common in people over 60 years, which puts most people to undergo eye surgery.
As per current research, cannabinoids receptors in the eye imply the endocannabinoid system, prompting aqueous humoural outflow and production. What that means is, there is specific cannabis that reduces intraocular pressure in the eye. That suggests a potential to slow this disease from progressing.
Cachexia (wasting syndrome)
Patients with chronic diseases such as cancer or HIV are likely to experience excessive weight loss due to depletion of adipose tissue. It’s a disease known as “wasting syndrome” because it causes excessive muscle wasting-weakness, loss of appetite, and fatigue.
NCCN mentioned cannabinoids as a significant breakthrough for treating chemotherapy-induced symptoms such as nausea and vomiting in their guidelines.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
PTSD is an anxiety-based medical disorder that a patient can qualify for Mississippi medical marijuana card if a resident there. It’s a condition that can develop after encountering a traumatizing event, leaving someone with significant physical or emotional harm.
These may include violent or personal assaults, which can be natural or human-caused disasters. It can also be a result of accidents or military combat. Patients who have PTSD may experience:
- persistent and frightening memories
- sleep disorders
- Feel detached
- they get easily distracted
Researchers have found lower levels of anandamide in patients with PTSD. It’s an endogenous cannabinoid compound responsible for regulating neurochemical balance in the central nervous system.
Endogenous anandamide is a compound known to trigger similar receptors activated by THC (and other substances of marijuana). That’s what makes PTSD a qualifying condition treatment for cannabis in many states with medical marijuana programs. So, if you live in Mississippi, you qualify for Mississippi medical marijuana card.
The Mississippi State Board of Health and the Medical Marijuana Advisory Committee continue to do online meetings discussing the medical marijuana program progress.
Crohn’s disease
This disease forms in the inflammatory bowel. It’s a chronic condition that causes inflammation in some parts of the digestive tract. Doctors believe that this disease comes from an immune system problem, and they still don’t understand its real cause. A person with this Crohn’s disease and who doesn’t show some obvious symptoms may benefit from cannabis if added to other medications. However, there’s not enough evidence to prove that.
According to experts, medical marijuana may improve the symptoms of Crohn’s disease. However, there’s less evidence showing that cannabis can reduce gut inflammation.
Autism
As per Israeli clinical trial reports, extracts of medical marijuana may help reduce disruptive behavior in children, which improves their social responsiveness. In addition, researchers said that children treated with a whole-plant marijuana extract or a combination of pure cannabidiol CBD and THC had a significant improvement in their symptoms than those given a placebo.
According to a pediatric neurology unit director, Dr. Adi Aran, he urges the parents to wait for more data before offering medical marijuana to their children in Jerusalem.
In Conclusion, MSDH is still working to establish production, regulation, and licensing structures, to meet the target date- August 15, 2021. If you have any of the mentioned medical conditions, you qualify for Mississippi medical marijuana card. And if you are from a different state, please check with your county’s law regarding this.