More than three years after voters overwhelmingly approved the use of medical marijuana during that year’s general election, officials from the Lumberton Board of Aldermen have scheduled a public hearing to discuss the medical cannabis ordinance for that city.
The hearing, which was set at the December 5 board meeting, is scheduled for 5 p.m. January 2 at Lumberton City Hall, 102 East Main Avenue in Lumberton. Mayor Quincy Rogers said the meeting will offer residents and officials the opportunity to discuss regulations and rules regarding medical marijuana in the city, which are mostly expected to follow those recently set forth by the Lamar County Board of Supervisors.
“To get something in place, we actually adopted the county’s cannabis ordinance, but we couldn’t do that (word for word),” Rogers said. “So we had to go back and tweak it, and do it to fit Lumberton, so that’s what we’re doing now.
“So this way, the public can hear what we’re actually doing with this new ordinance.”
The proposed ordinance will touch on matter such as times of operation and location of any upcoming dispensaries or other businesses.
“It has not been approved yet,” Rogers said. “It’s just basically operating hours – opening and closing hours, things of that nature.”
Rogers said while no medical marijuana dispensaries have yet set up in the city, there are some growers in Lumberton.
“All Lumberton is doing right now is cultivation – no dispensaries,” he said. “We haven’t gotten that yet.”
In June 2022, members of the Lamar County Board of Supervisors decided not to opt of out the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act, which permits the use of medical marijuana in the state to treat debilitating conditions such as cancer, chronic pain and seizures, among other maladies. Cities and counties have the option to opt out completely – which means no selling or growing at all would be allowed – or to opt out of a portion of the act and allow only certain measures.
Board members then adopted an ordinance which set forth standards and regulations regarding the following facilities and their operations: cannabis cultivation facilities, cannabis processing facilities, cannabis testing facilities, cannabis dispensaries, cannabis transportation entities, cannabis disposal entities and cannabis research facilities in the unincorporated areas of Lamar County.
“The purpose of the ordinance is to outline the county’s permitting process for (medical marijuana, as well as identify what zones within the county that medical cannabis facilities could be located,” county administrator Jody Waits said in a previous story. “It furthers the regulations from the state; we merged those together, and that’s what that ordinance does.”
The ordinance requires an owner or operator of a medical cannabis establishment must apply for and be issued a county permit for the operations of any facility of that nature. Applications must be submitted through the Lamar County Planning Department, which has the authority to approve or deny the permit.
A medical cannabis establishment is not allowed to locate within 1,000 feet of a school, church, childcare facility or any county building, including but not limited to voting precincts/community centers, recreational facilities and fire departments. However, a waiver may be obtained to circumvent that by receiving from the respective facility and applying a waiver from the state.
In that same vein, no medical cannabis dispensary is allowed to locate within a 1,500-foot radius from the main point of entry of that facility to the main point of entry to other dispensary. Hours of operation will be limited to no earlier than 9 a.m. and no later than 7 p.m. on Mondays through Saturdays, and no earlier than 1 p.m. and no later than 6 p.m. on Sundays.
All workers in dispensaries are required to have identification, and individuals under the age of 21 are not allowed to work in such a facility. Licenses and permits are required to be posted in an easy-to-see place within the facility.
Mississippi voters overwhelmingly approved the use of medical marijuana during the November 2020 general election, but 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.
Entities were given the chance to vote to opt out the act; if no decision is made, the act automatically went into law in that area.
Officials from the Town of Sumrall recently opted out of the act.
