One of many largest operators in Mississippi’s fledgling medical marijuana business didn’t observe state rules, in response to Division of Well being paperwork obtained by Mississippi At this time.
However the division’s response to this point — to write down Mockingbird Hashish LLC a letter itemizing “corrective actions” — has rivals crying foul. They are saying Mockingbird was allowed to develop and harvest a crop improperly and on a budget in plastic- and cloth-covered greenhouses that can permit them to beat others rising in buildings to market because the state’s medical marijuana program will get rolling.
Additionally they say the division seems to be giving big-money Mockingbird particular therapy that can shut out others, significantly smaller home-grown Mississippi corporations.
“(Mockingbird) has are available in and thrown some huge cash round and they’re anticipating to be pandered to,” mentioned Zack Wilson, chief working officer of Good Flower Farms, a smaller grower in Potts Camp. “Photos don’t lie. They’ve damaged the damned regulation. What’s the state going to do to them? That’s what all people desires to know.”
Others within the business shared related sentiments however wouldn’t remark publicly. Mississippi At this time was provided pictures taken from exterior certainly one of Mockingbird’s rising websites that present what seem like violations of state rules. One regulation is that “cultivation actions should not seen or accessible to the general public.” By a data request, Mississippi At this time obtained Well being Division pictures and correspondence documenting different issues.
Well being Division inspectors on Sept. 14, after receiving complaints seemingly from rivals, discovered {that a} Mockingbird develop web site was out of compliance with a number of state rising rules. Among the many division’s findings on the web site: Mockingbird was rising crops in greenhouses with tarp or clear plastic partitions (some rolled up and a few with giant holes in them) and lax safety that included a loosely chained again fence gate with a padlock.
State rules say “all cultivation actions should happen in indoor, enclosed, locked and safe services” which have a “full roof enclosure supported by connecting everlasting partitions, constructed of stable supplies extending from the bottom to the roof.” The rules additionally specify an extended listing of stringent safety necessities together with “business grade locks on all exterior doorways.”
Well being Division inspectors, data present, additionally discovered that Mockingbird was rising crops with out the required state “seed-to-sale” monitoring tags hooked up.
Mockingbird’s CEO, in a prolonged interview with Mississippi At this time, mentioned the corporate has corrected minor points and that the complaints are bitter grapes from rivals as a result of the corporate took a “calculated threat” investing thousands and thousands earlier than a state program was authorized, giving it an edge on competitors. It plans to have marijuana product prepared quickly, seemingly the primary main batch for this system lawmakers authorized this yr after years of debate and stalls.
“I’ll inform you we haven’t accomplished something we didn’t confide in the Division of Well being and in our utility,” mentioned Mockingbird CEO Clint Patterson, a former prosecutor from Oklahoma. “We really feel like we’ve got gone above and past to be good residents, compliant with regulation enforcement and compliant with the Division of Well being.”
Patterson mentioned that of the 15,000 or so crops Mockingbird was rising at its secondary facility, solely 30-50 didn’t have tags. He mentioned the corporate had tags for the crops, however simply hadn’t hooked up them and shortly rectified that.
Legislation enforcement additionally obtained calls about Mockingbird, and state Public Security Commissioner Sean Tindell mentioned Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics officers went out to the location and seemed into it. However he mentioned as soon as they realized Mockingbird was a licensed grower, they backed off. He mentioned the best way state medical marijuana legal guidelines are written, the Division of Public Security can not take part in regulating the business, and it might be as much as the Well being Division to name them in “in the event that they felt one thing was egregious sufficient.”
Well being Division officers refused to reply Mississippi At this time’s questions in regards to the firm.
The greenhouse impact
It’s unclear whether or not Mockingbird’s cultivation license covers the previous plant nursery the place inspectors discovered points. The positioning, at a property referred to as Standing Pine, is about 12 miles away from Mockingbird’s licensed indoor rising facility exterior Raymond, which is listed as its “bodily tackle” on the state’s registry of medical marijuana cultivator licenses.
Cultivators are allowed just one rising license. Mockingbird says its license covers the Standing Pine web site on Parsons Highway in addition to its most important indoor rising facility on Springridge Highway. Patterson mentioned Mockingbird clearly acknowledged in its utility that it deliberate to make use of the Standing Pine location and provided a number of pictures, together with photos of the greenhouses it deliberate to make use of, and different data in its roughly 700-page utility.
Rivals say that is bunk, that cultivation licenses are alleged to be for one location, and that they had been instructed they couldn’t develop in greenhouses.
Wilson mentioned he had purchased 15 greenhouses earlier than the medical marijuana program was up and operating, however was later instructed by the Well being Division he couldn’t use them, so he constructed a construction with 7-foot tall metal partitions. He mentioned one other grower he is aware of was additionally not allowed to make use of greenhouses he had.
Rising in greenhouses permits sooner, cheaper progress of a sort of marijuana plant that can be utilized for processing into edibles and different merchandise. In legislative debate and hearings on medical marijuana, proponents assured reluctant lawmakers that the state’s program could be safe and strictly regulated and rising could be “indoors” to offer extra safety, forestall contamination and make regulation simpler. On the time, farmers within the Delta complained that they had been being shut out of this system partially due to the excessive value of establishing such services.
“I’ve 5 totally different locations I’d like to develop at proper now, however they wouldn’t let me develop at 5 totally different addresses,” Wilson mentioned. “We had been instructed all of it needs to be on the similar location … If anyone places in a 770-page utility, that’s not an utility, that’s making an attempt to blanket them with paperwork … What if I put one thing in my (utility) that I wished to make use of butt-naked college youngsters for cultivation they usually didn’t catch it? Simply since you put one thing in there and the division ignored it doesn’t imply it’s proper.”
The division’s public registry of licensed cultivators lists Mockingbird’s cultivation facility for its license as “bodily tackle” 1577 Springridge Highway. State rules say, “A license shall be issued for the particular location recognized on the appliance, and is legitimate just for the proprietor, premises and title designated on the appliance and Division issued license and the placement for which it’s issued.” Patterson factors to this regulation as permitting the Standing Pine cultivation on Parsons Highway. Others level to it as clearly not permitting it.
State Rep. Lee Yancey, one of many lead drafters of the state’s Medical Marijuana Act, declined to reply most questions in regards to the points with Mockingbird. He mentioned for now the Well being Division is in command of deciphering what the principles are and that, “If the statute just isn’t clear sufficient, we’ll tackle it (within the Legislature).”
As for rising services, Yancey mentioned, “My understanding was that it was to be an enclosed, locked facility, however the way you outline that — I assume that’s the difficulty. Proper now, the Well being Division will interpret what which means … I believe the legislative intent was partitions and a ceiling and a ground … We shall be taking a look at tweaks to issues in January.”
Sen. Kevin Blackwell, the lead drafter of the laws, couldn’t be reached for remark and didn’t reply to a message searching for an interview.
‘Hoop homes’ and ‘Dutch sunhouses’
Patterson, in a prolonged phone interview with Mississippi At this time with a Mockingbird lobbyist listening in, mentioned he believes his firm has been compliant with all rules and “they’d some corrective motion for us and we complied … very, in a short time.”
“They made it very clear they weren’t issuing violations, they had been issuing a corrective motion,” Patterson mentioned. “… After we utilized, we had been very upfront about what we had been going to do and the place we had been cultivating. We spent $30 million within the state of Mississippi, and we employed Mississippi individuals and we purchased our provides in Mississippi and we did this earlier than there was a program, as a result of we believed within the voice of the individuals in wanting this regulation handed — they voted resoundingly on Initiative 65, a mandate … That is typical on this business that when a program begins, whoever has taken that calculated threat, the rivals will usually complain.”
In the course of the prolonged interview, Patterson defined that “our most important construction (at Standing Pine) is a Dutch-style sunhouse, that has a everlasting basis, like a basis you’d see in a home — concrete, plumbed, has drainage in it and everlasting structured partitions, has retractable perform.”
“After they authorized our utility, we assumed we had been good,” Patterson mentioned. “However after they got here again out, they need arduous plastic on the partitions.”
Patterson mentioned he was unfamiliar with particulars of Well being Division pictures exhibiting partitions with no protecting or with skinny, clear, plastic or torn fabric tarp protecting. However he mentioned all of the buildings are being secured per Well being Division requests and follow-up, together with a teleconference between the division and Mockingbird officers.
Patterson denied that Mockingbird had been rising marijuana in “hoop homes,” that are half-circle formed greenhouses manufactured from curved tubing and coated in plastic sheeting.
“Greenhouses are basically totally different than hoop homes,” Patterson mentioned. “… We’re solely rising in greenhouses which have concrete foundations with draining and plumbing.”
However when despatched a duplicate of a photograph of a hoop home with open partitions with marijuana crops rising at Standing Pine that was provided to Mississippi At this time, Patterson corrected his earlier statements.
“As to the image, I’ve requested internally and it seems that was a staging space employees arrange this summer season to use (plant monitoring) tags,” Patterson wrote in a textual content message after the interview. “We noticed that with our personal inner controls. Administration on the facility recognized that was not an acceptable constructing, and all crops had been moved. Once more, we discovered that ourselves. These crops weren’t there when Dept of Well being inspected us they usually aren’t there right now. We by no means flowered crops in that constructing.”
Additionally through the interview, Patterson mentioned the medical marijuana regulation handed by the Legislature refers to greenhouses and 3-foot tall partitions with retractable tops within the definition of acceptable rising services. However later, he messaged: “I checked with our authorized of us and the phrases greenhouse and three-foot excessive partitions was in earlier drafts, however was not within the closing invoice.
“Nonetheless, to be clear, the definitions do permit for a everlasting develop home that we function, and as I discussed beforehand, we did present the division precisely the place and the way we meant to develop.”
Throughout his interview, Patterson repeatedly referred to Mockingbird’s 163,000 square-foot facility that when housed the state Division of Income on Springridge Highway as “our indoor facility,” and mentioned no crops had been ever transferred from Standing Pine to the Springridge Highway constructing.
“The concept that we might try this and expose crops to spiders, mites and pests after which transfer them to our indoor facility the place it’s utterly pristine … the concept we might try this and expose our indoor to all these pollution is ridiculous,” Patterson mentioned.
However when requested if that meant he thought-about Standing Pine to be out of doors rising, Patterson mentioned, “I’ve by no means referred to as Standing Pine out of doors. A greenhouse is taken into account indoor within the business. Out of doors is in a subject, row cropping.”
Corrective actions, crops harvested
It’s unclear what, if something, the Well being Division — which didn’t need the duty of regulating medical marijuana within the first place — will do, past sending Mockingbird Hashish LLC the Sept. 21 letter telling it to take “corrective actions.”
Well being Division spokeswoman Liz Sharlot, when Mississippi At this time requested to interview somebody on the division, initially mentioned, “I’m all the time joyful to reply any written questions.” However after being supplied written questions, she mentioned, “I’m unable to reply your questions at the moment as that is an ongoing investigation.”
However the Well being Division’s letter to Mockingbird didn’t point out any ongoing investigation and mentioned, “Please notify our workplace, in writing, of completion of Mockingbird’s corrective actions and supply documentation and timelines of actions taken.”
Mockingbird responded in writing to the Sept. 21 letter on Oct. 3, noting that, “Whereas I perceive that our inspection was instigated by false, nameless accusations submitted to your division, we’re nonetheless happy that you simply had been capable of tour and examine each of our cultivation services and welcome any solutions for enchancment.”
The corporate mentioned it had instantly tagged the untagged crops inspectors discovered and “processes have been up to date to make sure no future delays in making use of tags.”
The corporate additionally mentioned it has employed a brand new safety firm — previous to the inspection — and is beefing up safety at Standing Pine, together with “elevated web capability, put in extra digital camera methods, and ordered up to date siding and doorways for sure greenhouses” and that it’ll not add new crops there till every little thing is up to date.
“Per our dialogue, Mockingbird will harvest the vast majority of crops on the greenhouse facility right now, emptying the most important greenhouse and getting ready it for safety updates,” the letter mentioned. “We’ve additionally labored to replace safety on the three smaller greenhouses on the property to carry any remaining crops that would not but be harvested.”
‘It will put different individuals out of enterprise’
The rules the Well being Division helped promulgate and is meant to implement have a “Schedule of Disciplinary Actions” together with giant fines, suspension or revocation of licenses for quite a lot of first, second and third violations. Its rule says, “Along with any relevant felony actions, the next schedule shall be used when administratively disciplining medical hashish institutions for violating statutory and/or regulatory necessities.” It says the division has the fitting to extend the penalties primarily based on aggravating circumstances however doesn’t tackle waiving the penalties that “shall be used.”
These penalties embrace a effective of $5,000 for first offense “Failure to adjust to safety necessities,” a effective of $5,000 for “Failure to precisely observe stock,” and a $10,000 effective and one week suspension for “Willful failure to precisely observe stock.”
Actions exterior of the principles, state rules say, “could also be thought-about suspected unlawful actions and reported to correct authorities as such.”
Wilson mentioned Mockingbird being allowed to reap the greenhouse crops means, “They got a head begin, an enormous benefit over everybody else within the state.”
“They grew sufficient marijuana in that one develop to totally inventory each dispensary — thousands and thousands of {dollars} price,” Wilson mentioned. “… It’s humorous, they had been those that lobbied to get all these guidelines into place to make it more durable for a small man like me to get a license. Every part needs to be indoor with stable partitions … However then they only drown the state with paperwork and name their greenhouses indoors. No, hell, it’s not … If that place is authorized, how come it’s not completed out but?
“Sure, this may put different individuals out of enterprise,” Wilson mentioned. “What they’ve accomplished is crush the small Mississippians on this enterprise.”
Republish our articles totally free, on-line or in print, beneath a Artistic Commons license.
