Biloxi council will soon address medical marijuana zoning
The Biloxi City Council will soon hold a hearing to discuss and finalize zoning laws for the medical cannabis industry.
The special meeting, set for 5 p.m. on June 7, will address questions and concerns city council members had at its May 24 meeting.
The proposed ordinance would allow cultivation on a residential property zoned for agriculture. Councilman Paul Tisdale recommended removing the zone. When he suggested adding language regarding advertising, Community Development Director Jerry Creel said the council would have no control over it.
“There are only two pages in there that deal with cities and counties and basically what we have the authority to do is to regulate the zoning,” Creel said. “Are we going to allow it in Biloxi? And where are we going to allow it?”
Councilman George Lawrence questioned the process. “I don’t know why it was written there like that because they sell OxyContin, they sell Dilaudid, they sell morphine every day,” he said. “This is just another Class 2 drug so you shouldn’t be eliminating pharmacies, whether it is by a church by a school or whatever. I just had a problem with that.”
Schedule II drugs are defined as those “with a high potential for abuse, with use potentially leading to severe psychological or physical dependence. These drugs are also considered dangerous,” according to the Drug Enforcement Agency.
The city’s new zoning law borrows language from the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act. Like the act, the proposed amendments would allow state-licensed dispensaries to operate at least 1,000 feet from any school, church or child care facility. The business can cut that distance in half with approval of the school, church or child care center and an approved variance application through the state licensing agency.
Tisdale proposed including funeral homes to the list of locations that would require a 1,000-foot barrier. “I would add funeral homes to that list since from time to time they have religious services in there for funerals,” he said.
The proposed ordinance would also limit the proximity of cannabis dispensaries. The businesses would have to be at least 1,500 feet apart. Businesses are not allowed to operate a drive through, offer curbside pickup or any form of delivery outside the business.
Like the state law, Biloxi’s ordinance does not allow any dispensaries to share space with or refer patients to practitioners.
Local pharmacies would have several other obstacles to surpass in order to sell medical marijuana. Most of the obstacles would either radically change their operation or eliminate the possibility of obtaining a license to sell. For the first six months of cultivation and processing facility licensing, the licensee will have to have ties to Mississippi.
The license requires showing proof the business owner has been a resident of Mississippi for at least three years and a citizen of the United States for at least three years prior to the application date.
If a business entity, for instance an LLC, applies for a license, at least 35% of the equity ownership interests in the business must be held by people who have been residents of Mississippi and citizens of the United States for at least three years.
While the stipulation ends on Dec 31, 2022, the act also prohibits anyone under 21 from entering a dispensary and requires all owners and employees to be licensed to sell medical marijuana.
Police Chief John Miller said medical marijuana cannot be treated like Schedule II drugs because the use of medical marijuana is not covered by a federal law. “It is my understanding that the reason it’s not being distributed by pharmacies is because pharmacies are regulated through the DEA, and as far as marijuana goes, or any derivative of marijuana, it is still federally illegal,” he said. “So, until the federal government decides that they are going to go along with this, it can’t be distributed through pharmacies.”
