Registration for Mississippi’s new medical marijuana program opened Wednesday.The applications for licenses and registration for practitioners, caregivers, patients, businesses and work permits are available online at the Mississippi State Department of Health. The applications cover everything except dispensaries, said Melvin Robinson III, with the Mississippi Cannabis Trade Association.Pre-application checklist | User GuideThere is a list of diseases and ailments for patients looking for relief from chronic pain and to help them cope. Eligible conditions include cancer, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease, sickle-cell anemia, PTSD, autism and chronic pain. Full list here.There is a five-day approval time for program patients, who once approved, will be allowed to buy 3.5 grams a day, six days a week. That’s about 3 ounces each month.”We’re asking for our patients to be patient,” said Angie Calhoun, founder of the Mississippi Cannabis Patients Alliance. Those who start the application process now, won’t be approved for a medical cannabis card until they’ve been certified by a licensed practitioner, who must first take an eight-hour health department class.”So, there’s going to be a little bit of a lag time, most likely, before those patients can get their medical cannabis card,” Calhoun said. Calhoun said patients will have to submit specific documentation.”Like a digital photo and that photo has to be representative — say something like a passport-style photo — that they require. Also, they’re going to submit two forms of residency documentation,” Calhoun said.Patients will also have to have medical records to prove they qualify for a card if they suffer from one of the two dozen debilitating diseases the cannabis program covers.”It’s very, very important to establish a relationship with that practitioner, and with those records,” Calhoun said.While medical marijuana is now legal in Mississippi, under federal law, marijuana is still classified as illegal. That’s why Medicaid and Medicare won’t cover the cost of medical cannabis. Private insurance companies are likely to do the same.Business owners could also face hurdles getting financing and insurance because marijuana is illegal under federal law. There is a 30-day approval time for licensure applications.