After approximately three weeks in business, the City of Petal’s first medical marijuana dispensary/growery has hit the ground running.
Mick Baldwin, who along with his business partner Scott Hubbard, owns Tortuga Cannabis Company in the former dance studio in the 800 block of U.S. 11 – just north of the Dandy Dan’s convenience store – said business has been booming since day 1, after a slight hiccup with the store’s Point of Sale system.
“We had headaches for about the first three hours with our Point of Sale, but we got past it and got everything operational,” Baldwin said. “I’m very excited, and the city has just been welcoming to us.
“We have patients coming in, and we’re able to serve them and get them some good product. It’s been really exciting.”
The shop officially opened on July 26, with a grand opening scheduled for August 19. The company features fully vertical operation, meaning processing, growing and dispensing. Customers can choose from several varieties of medical marijuana, including flower, edibles, dabs, and concentrates.
“We’ve had a lot of traffic,” Baldwin said. “Some people are just coming in and saying, ‘man, we’re just so thankful you’re here,’ and we’ve got some people that are just curious and want to come in and see a dispensary.
“I’ve not heard a single negative comment from anybody.”
To enter the store, visitors must submit a medical marijuana card, which is issued to patients by the Mississippi State Department of Health based on a physician’s recommendation, along with a valid form of identification such as a state ID or driver’s license. Medical marijuana cards can be issued for conditions such as cancer, glaucoma, anxiety, depression and other issues.
Gerald Steele, who represents Ward 1 on the Petal Board of Aldermen, was instrumental in working with Baldwin to bring the business to his ward.
“The addition of a growery and dispensary in Petal is going to have a great positive impact on our city,” Steele said in a previous story. “It is going to be built in a place that is in need of revitalization and growth. The owners are already fixing and repairing several buildings that have needed a purpose for a long while.
“Extra lighting and security is a top priority for the developers and they are already filing paperwork with the city for expansion. Our city will now have a functioning industrial sector that will generate huge tax revenue for Petal.”
Steele and Baldwin said given state regulations put on marijuana business – such as the requirement to be a certain distance away from schools, churches and day cares – the Tortuga Cannabis Company may be the only medical marijuana business to come to Petal, at least for quite some time.
“Although this decision was made at the state level, it is up to city officials to make the best of the situation and do what is right for the city,” Steele said. “The location where it is being built may potentially make this dispensary the only one that can be built in the city. Petal has a lot of churches, and dispensaries cannot operate within 1,000 feet of any church or school.
“The current location seems to be the only spot in the city where this development is allowed by state law. By taking this plant out of the illegal drug category, and making it a regulated, taxable, medicine, we are helping suffering individuals and the City of Petal at the same time.”
Although Mississippi voters approved medical marijuana in the November 2020 general election, that effort was soon nullified by the Mississippi Supreme Court. However, the cannabis act was then approved by both chambers of the Mississippi Legislature – the House and the Senate – and was signed into law shortly thereafter by Gov. Tate Reeves.
