A Coast businessman will convert a MS tire plant into a medical marijuana facility
Tom Moore started working months ago to acquire and equip a facility to manufacture medical marijuana in Mississippi.
Last month, Senate Bill 2095 overwhelming passed to legalize medical marijuana and on Wednesday It immediately became law when Gov. Tate Reeves signed the bill earlier this week.
Moore Companies, located on Main Street in Biloxi, is among the first companies in the state ready to grow and go, Moore said.
The equipment is ordered and barring any delays, Mississippi Green Oil can be operating in a few months in a former tire warehouse in Prentiss. The small town is northwest of Hattiesburg, and about two hours from the Coast.
“We should have this facility built out by May 1,” Moore said, which is when the first licenses to manufacturer marijuana will be awarded in the state.
Moore said he met with the mayor and economic development director of Prentiss to make sure this type of business would be welcomed there.
The town lost a lot of jobs in the last several years, Moore said, and the officials and residents are eager for the tax revenue and the 30 jobs the business will bring when it opens.
In a separate venture, Moore’s company also is working with the rock band KISS and other investors to bring a casino to the former Margaritaville Casino site in East Biloxi.
How it will grow
Under the new law, patients who qualify and have a prescription from their physician can buy about 3 ounces of medical marijuana each month. The legislation says the plants must be grown indoors in controlled conditions.
Moore said the growing, processing and manufacturing will be done in a “very restricted, highly secured building.”
Winston Caesear will oversee the operation in Prentiss, which he said will use aquaponics, a system that uses the waste from fish to provide nutrients to the plants.
Their grower has 20 years of experience growing plants, marijuana and exotic flowers, Caesear said.
How it will be produced
A clean room will be built to convert the processed marijuana plants into gummies, cookies, brownies and other products, he said.
Their products will be sent to licensed marijuana dispensaries throughout the state, he said, using a distribution system he is designing that will allow the dispensary to scan the inventory, purchase and pay for the product online and track the package to delivery.
Moore said he’s been working on this new business long before medical marijuana became legal in Mississippi so Mississippi Green Oil would be ready to go on what is expected to be the next oil rush in the state.
