Of the 16 counties and the myriad of municipalities in Northeast Mississippi, the majority of local elected officials decided not to opt out of medical cannabis. Calhoun, Pontotoc, Tippah and Union counties were the only counties to opt out.
Union County Administrator Terry Johnson said the board of supervisors voted to opt out of medical cannabis because it believed the regulations were lacking. He noted that during the county’s public hearing on the program only opposition to the industry showed.
“They opted out mainly because they didn’t know the rules,” he said. “You can always opt back in, but if you missed the deadline, you could never opt out. Another board could come in and change that in the future.”
When asked if he believed the state coming out with further regulations would cause the board to opt back in, he said he believed “their minds were made up.”
“They weren’t against medical marijuana; they wanted it to be more regulated,” he said.
Municipalities in Northeast Mississippi were more divided on the issue. Fulton Mayor Emily Quinn said the board of Aldermen was undecided when the discussion began but it ultimately believed it would benefit the community.
“We decided that as regulated as it is going to be, it was not going to be that bad of a thing,” she said.
Quinn said two individuals approached the city about getting into the industry. She also said the town was working on additional ordinances for the industry, noting that it would be based closely on the city’s current ordinance on alcohol and would have hours of operation based on pharmacies. Fulton would prohibit facilities from establishing within 1,000 feet of churches, daycares and schools. Quinn said businesses separated by a public road from protected places could establish within the buffer zone.
“Fulton is pretty small,” she said. “We have a church on every corner.”
Oxford Mayor Robyn Tannehill said no alderman entertained opting out during an open session. Oxford, like Tupelo and Fulton, was working on specific ordinances to further regulate the industry. She said the city would present the draft of the ordinance at its next board meeting.
“There are a lot of moving parts. It is new, and we are going to make the best decisions we can with what information we have,” she said. “I believe more than 70% of Lafayette voted to support (medical cannabis). Our community clearly wants it.”
Meanwhile, a plethora of cities moved to reject dispensaries, cultivation and processing within their limits, including Amory, Ashland, Booneville, Ecru, Falkner, New Albany, Pontotoc, Sherman and Walnut.
Pontotoc’s board of Aldermen opted out in a split 3-2 vote in April. Aldermen against the industry said the program was not fleshed out enough, while the two in favor of staying opted in said it was in line with the state’s previous vote to amend the constitution to include a medical cannabis program.
“The thing we were most concerned about is that the final regulations had not been written, and we were very concerned how those were going to turn,” Pontotoc Mayor Bob Peeples said. “There are a lot of variables. They thought it was in the best interest of the city to opt out. ”
Peeples said the board was open to bringing up the issue again once the state’s program was off the ground.
While most officials took either took the stance of fully opted in or fully opted out, a handful of municipalities voted to accept the industry in part, including Ripley.
Residents of any county or municipality that opted out of the industry may trigger a referendum vote by petition. The number of signatures needed is dependent on the size of the county or city in question.
