On Wednesday, January 25, Mississippi opened its first medical dispensary in Brookhaven. This comes after a long two-year battle since Mississippians initially voted on Measure 65 back in 2020.
However, the initial sales didn’t go as smoothly as hoped.
Debbie McDermott, the first patient of the Cannabis Company in Brookhaven, had to wait 2 and a half hours after placing her order. According to officials, the delay caused problems with their point-of-sale system METRC.
“I hate it for the patients more than anything,” Mitch Parker, owner of the Cannabis Company, told ABC 16 WAPT. “We have people in here who have been waiting for this medicine, you know, and have been for so long.”
Besides Brookhaven, medical marijuana sales also began in Oxford at two dispensaries; Hybrid Relief and Starbuds.
“We have been working since 2018 to get medical marijuana in the hands of patients in Mississippi, and it’s surreal to see it finally come to fruition,” Ken Newburger, executive director of the Mississippi Medical Marijuana Association, noted.
He continued, “This is only the beginning. More nad more businesses will be harvesting, testing, and getting their products on the shelves in the coming months; therefore, more patients will have access to this medicine at certified businesses all across the state.”
Planting the Roots of Mississippi’s Medical Marijuana Industry
Part of the Association’s responsibility is to supply Mississippi residents with knowledge on how to obtain a medical marijuana card—a requirement for all legal purchases.
They have a database of all physicians, nurse practitioners, and optometrists that are participating in the state’s medical program. Not to mention, the important details about what qualifying medical conditions are.
Once a resident registers for certification for medical cannabis use, they must also apply within 60 days to the Medical Cannabis Program’s online form. From there, they will receive an electronic identification card that can be used at one of the current 3 state-licensed dispensaries.
With that, each patient is allowed to buy up to 3.5 grams per day, six days a week. In total, that’s about three ounces per month.
Southern Sky Brands in Kanton is one cultivator currently supplying to the state. They planted back in August to prepare for the current legal sales. With four grow rooms and their first crop coming in at about 60 pounds, the grow operation believes it will quadruple its production once the industry settles into place.
As of now, there are about a dozen cultivators about the size of Southern Sky Brands operating throughout the state. On top of this, there are also a number of micro-cultivators.
Similar to other states, all cannabis products in Mississippi must be approved by a third-party laboratory.
Potential Problems with the Industry’s Future
Unfortunately, not all is going smoothly behind closed doors. The Health Department office (who’s responsible for running Mississippi’s medical program) has been struggling with disorganization.
With only eight people working within the medical cannabis office, the department is seeing the following issues:
- Agents are not going to cultivation sites
- Hundreds of patients are waiting in application backlogs
- Poor communication among licensees (which can last weeks at a time)
As a result, some cannabis business owners are worried that their investment won’t reach its full potential.
“The state threw them to the wolves,” Joel Harper, one of the state’s marijuana cultivators, told Mississippi Today. “They should have paid the money to bring in professionals, even a third-party consultant. Instead, they’re sending people out into the cannabis world who have no idea about anything cannabis.”
While these initial sales are small enough in scope to be managed, the expansion of Mississippi’s industry remains up in the air. However, with these first steps being taken, the experience will hopefully lead to all issues settling out.
