Dozens of Mississippi cities, counties opt out of medical cannabis. Here’s the list.

Tuesday’s deadline to opt out of the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act ended with at least 44 Mississippi counties and municipalities choosing not to allow the medical marijuana industry to take root in their jurisdictions.

The Sun Herald confirmed 28 cities and 16 counties made the decision to opt out. The list includes George and Pearl River counties in South Mississippi, as well as D’Iberville, Pass Christian, Picayune and Lucedale.

Pass Christian was the first Coast city that voted to opt out at their March 1 meeting. D’Iberville was one of the last municipalities to opt out, voting unanimously at Tuesday’s meeting.

Those who missed the 90-day deadline no longer have the option of opting out. However, those who voted to opt out can opt back in with either another vote by the governing bodies or an election. In fact, the cities of Iuka and Philadelphia initially opted out. But after research and discussion, officials voted to opt back in.

An election would require a petition signed by 1,500 or 20% of voters, whichever number is lesser. Petitions have already started circulating in many parts of the state.

The election would have to be held after three weeks of public notice but no more than 60 days after the petition is filed. The medical cannabis act even includes the exact wording required on the ballot. If the law doesn’t pass by vote, a new petition and election process may start after two years.

What does opting out prohibit?

Residents in areas that opted out may have farther to travel to fill prescriptions, but opting out will not affect their right to use or possess prescribed amounts of marijuana.

Practitioners can also still register to participate in the program, regardless of where their practice is located. Registered practitioners treat eligible patients, certify the patients qualify for the treatment and prescribe medical cannabis to those who qualify.

Governing authorities of municipalities were able to “opt out of one or more of the following: the cultivation, processing, sale or distribution of medical cannabis and cannabis products,” according to the act. Most of those who opted out, chose to opt out of all four (cultivation, processing, sale and distribution). Boards of supervisors could opt out for unincorporated areas of the county.

Cities, counties that opted out of medical cannabis in MS

Municipalities

• Amory

• Belmont

• Brandon

• Caledonia

• Carrollton

• Clinton

• D’Iberville

• Ecru

• Flora

• Flowood (opted in for research)

• Gluckstadt

• Greenwood

• Horn Lake

• Kilmichael

• Lucedale

• Madison

• New Albany

• North Carrollton (opted in for dispensaries, out for cultivation)

• Noxapater

• Pass Christian

• Picayune

• Poplarville

• Pontotoc

• Ridgeland

• Southaven

• Sumrall

• Tishomingo

• Vaiden

• Winona (opted in for dispensaries, out for processing and cultivation)

Counties

• Calhoun

• Carroll

• Choctaw

• George

• Jones (opted in for cultivation, out for processing and dispensaries)

• Lauderdale

• Leflore

• Lincoln

• Madison (out for dispensaries, in for cultivation, processing and distribution)

• Montgomery (out for dispensaries, in for processing and cultivation)

• Newton

• Neshoba

• Pearl River

• Pontotoc

• Tippah

• Union

Here’s a look at the counties and cities on the Gulf Coast that opted in for medical cannabis.

Coast counties

• Hancock

• Harrison

• Jackson

Coast cities

• Bay St. Louis

• Waveland

• Long Beach

• Gulfport

• Biloxi

• Ocean Springs

• Pascagoula

• Moss Point