First annual Cannabis Festival Mississippi called a success
The inaugural Cannabis Festival Mississippi “went so well that we’re going to do two days next year,” said event organizer Natalie Bonner.
On Saturday, a lively crowd attended a packed day of information sessions, music, and cannabis-related networking at downtown Biloxi’s District Green.
“We didn’t have any hiccups, we had a wonderful turnout, our information sessions were packed. People were eager to learn,” said Bonner.
The event was billed as an opportunity for those casually curious about cannabis to learn more in anticipation of the rollout of Mississippi’s medical marijuana program, as well as for entrepreneurs and business owners planning to get in on the burgeoning cannabis industry as it begins.
Bonner said she was surprised to see a substantial number of “baby boomers who wanted to learn about cultivation, who wanted to learn about how to grow, how cannabis works in the body. So a lot of people left informed and educated.”
“A lot of people asked about their Second Amendment rights,” said Bonner. The answer she gave was: “If you own guns now, you’re fine, but you can’t get a new license” if prescribed medical marijuana under the current bill.
“We’re gonna be working on the capitol to see if we can get some amendments to that current provision,” she added.
For advocates and entrepreneurs invested in legalization, the event seemed to double as a celebration of the victory represented by the medical cannabis bill and a group strategy session on the road ahead.
Some 50 people — double the capacity of the tent, many with notepads out — attended an informational session on the policy details of the medical marijuana program, where legalization advocates Ken Newburger, Bethany Hill, and former Ocean Springs mayor Shea Dobson offered business owners detailed advice from how to apply for bank loans for cannabis dispensaries to what the restrictions on THC content will be.
Hill suggested caution in the naming of cannabis-related businesses in order not to scare away wary lenders. Newburger explained that cannabis flower will be capped at 30% THC, and all other cannabis products at 60% — a restriction he said was only especially onerous for vape cartridges.
The panelists took questions on how the requirement that dispensaries be at least 1,500 feet apart from one another will be enforced — a question whose answer is largely still unknown, said Newburger. “This is my least favorite part of the bill,” he said.
One of the audience members, Mike Haddox, is planning to open a dispensary along Mississippi 59 in Hattiesburg named Mary Jane and Herb’s. In a twist worthy of a 2000s stoner comedy, the business is named after his grandmother and father, whose names were actually Mary Jane and Herb. “I’ve kind of been joking about this my whole life. I can’t even really take credit for the name,” he told the Sun Herald.
Haddox said he was at the event partly to make connections with other people in the industry. “It’s a people-oriented business,” he said.
Haddox was apprehensive about the regulations governing dispensary licensing. “I’m trying to build a building in the next couple of months based on rules and regulations that aren’t even set in stone. And then once the licensing comes out, it’s kind of a dog fight to see who gets a license because of the 1,500 feet spacing requirements,” he said.