The City of Petal’s first medical marijuana dispensary/growery is less than three weeks from opening, with Tortuga Cannabis Company – which is located in the former dance studio in the 800 block of U.S. 11 just north of Dandy Dan’s – set to begin operations on July 21.
Mick Baldwin, who owns the site with his business partner Scott Hubbard, said the dispensary was set to open on July 14, but that date was pushed back a week to allow time for some more aesthetic improvements – in particular, a large mural in the front of the facility.
“It’s going to be like a beach scene on the wall, and it comes down onto the floor,” Baldwin said. “When you walk in, it’s going to look like you’re walking on the ocean.
“It’s a really cool concept and it’s going to blend with our dispensary very, very well. There’s actually a lot of anticipation (ahead) of getting open.”
Although state licensing for dispensaries can sometimes take a while, Baldwin was able to get his fairly quickly – about a month ago – and is ready to go on that front. Currently, he is in the process of obtaining the necessary business documents from city officials.
“I can’t believe how fast (the state process) went through,” Baldwin said. “I’m ready to go; we’re getting close, and I’m very excited.
“We’re doing our best to source product, and there are some definite product issues here in Mississippi. But we’re trying to source the best stuff that we can possibly find.”
The company will feature a fully vertical operation, meaning processing, growing and dispensing. Customers can choose from several varieties of medical marijuana, including flower, edibles, dabs, and concentrates.
“We don’t carry a lot of strains, because too many choices makes hard decisions,” Baldwin said in a previous story. “My partner, he’s been a grower for 43 years, and he is probably one of the top five growers in the world.
“He does a lot of collaboration with top growers all over the world, so all of our strains are our strains – stuff that we’ve developed. He’ll come and set up the grow operation, and then he’s got a grower that he’s going to send here to run the growth.”
As a medical marijuana card from a physician is required to purchase the products, Baldwin and his staff will have a doctor on site during the grand opening of the company to help with that procedure. Patients with afflictions including – but not limited to – cancer, ulcerative colitis, autism and Parkinson’s disease – may be eligible for the card.
In addition, customers can receive help with inputting the information for their card applications.
“We have a background in this, so it’s not like we’re new and trying to stumble through it – this is the kind of knowledge we bring,” Baldwin said. “In order to bring this to the patients, we’re actually going to bring this to the patients.
“That way, they don’t have to go to a doctor somewhere and try to schedule appointments; we will actually have him here on site. That way, it makes it very easy for the patients. They’ll see the doctor, the doctor will send in a referral, and then they have to put in an application (for the card).”
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. “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.
“We’ve gotten a few phone calls (about opening a medical marijuana business), but this is really the first one that seems to be kind of putting the pieces together to open up,” Mayor Tony Ducker said. “Going into this, I felt like we were going to be kind of geographically challenged for this type of operation, but there wasn’t a concern that we were going to be overran with them.
“We’ll get them in and see where we go from there.”
