The Southaven mayor wants medical marijuana to come to the city, but not quite yet.
“I can’t speak for my Board [of Alderman], but speaking for myself, I’m an advocate for medical marijuana,” Mayor Darren Musselwhite said. “One of my goals was to be one of the first cities to bring it here, but I have a serious obligation to make sure zoning is done properly, so I’m going to make sure we do that in the right way before bringing it in.”
Gov. Tate Reeves signed a bill legalizing medical marijuana in Mississippi in early February. The bill, which allows patients to buy up to 3 ounces of marijuana per month, is designed to be used by people with debilitating conditions such as cancer, AIDS and sickle cell disease.
Cities and counties across the state have until May 3, 90 days after the signing of the bill, to hold a public vote to determine whether they want to allow certain medical marijuana-related businesses to operate in their communities. They will then have the option to opt back in at any point.
The concern many cities and counties have about opting into the bill centers around zoning and a lack of clear state guidance. The law has required any dispensaries to be at least 1,500 feet from each other and 1,000 feet from a school, church or daycare and some cities in Mississippi have been concerned that they do not have the authority to be more specific in the zoning than that.
On Friday, the cities in DeSoto received a requested Mississippi Attorney General’s opinion. The opinion, Musselwhite said, was contradictory to what many of the attorneys they had previously spoken to thought the law stated. The opinion indicates the cities are in fact allowed to be more specific in zoning for dispensaries in commercial zones.
“In the AG opinion, it says that you must have a comprehensive zoning plan that’s laid out specifically,” Musselwhite said. “So at this point, having just found out about that Friday, it will take some time for us to develop that comprehensive zoning plan and so what will be recommended by the city attorney [tonight] is that we opt out until we have that done.”
In DeSoto, Horn Lake has already announced it will be opting out, DeSoto County Board of Supervisors will hold a special meeting on April 25 to vote on the issue and Southaven, Olive Branch and Hernando will all hold Board of Alderman meetings Tuesday night to discuss it.
While Musselwhite has said Southaven will most likely be opting out for the time being, with a plan to opt in once the zoning issues can fully be resolved, Olive Branch has indicated that they are leaning strongly towards opting in.
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“I am of the opinion that we absolutely must hear from the citizens who we represent tomorrow night. At the same time, the citizens statewide have spoken very clearly that they approve of medical cannabis and the Legislature has enacted a law that legalizes it,” Olive Branch Mayor Ken Adams said in a Monday email. “I do not feel the cities should be in the business of overriding that vote and desire of the people. With the Legislature codifying medical cannabis as legal it is therefore just as legal when prescribed for medical purposes as acid reflux medicine, cholesterol medicine, or blood pressure medications.”
A Facebook group called “DeSoto County Mississippians for Medical Cannabis” currently has more than 2000 members and has been advocating for cities to opt in. The plan, according to posts made by the pages moderators, is to have as many people as possible attend and speak at the three meetings tonight and the one on April 25.
If a city or county does not hold a public vote by May 3, they will automatically be opted in. For cities or counties that do opt out, they can opt in at any point and voters will also have the ability to request a special election by gathering signatures by petition from 1,500 registered voters or 20% of the population, whichever one is the least.
The Southaven and Hernando Board of Alderman’s will each be meeting Tuesday at 6 p.m. while the Olive Branch Board of Alderman will be meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Gina Butkovich covers DeSoto County, storytelling and general news. She can be reached at 901-232-6714 or on Twitter @gigibutko.
