GREENE COUNTY, Miss. (WKRG) – Three businesses in Greene County are among the facilities licensed to grow medical marijuana, according to the state’s latest data.

The Jan. 13 report lists all the businesses licensed to cultivate, process, test and transport medical marijuana in the state. Only cultivation licenses have been issued so far in Greene and surrounding counties.

Greene County Board of Supervisors signed a memorandum of understanding with Growing Greene in May 2022 saying, in part, it welcomed the business. Owner Leslie Wade-Felts said, once opened, the facility in the northeast corner of the county will be able to grow 300 plants at one time.

Ransom Jones, representing Gatlin Creek Farms, asked the supervisors in September for a certification letter stating there were no zoning restrictions on cultivation. A third business, Kush Farms, owned by Scarlet and Andy McDonald, was licensed in September, records show.

In neighboring George County, voters narrowly failed a series of non-binding ballot questions in November that would have prompted the county supervisors to revisit the issue after opting-out of allowing any medical marijuana businesses.

Lucedale aldermen decided to opt back in during an August board meeting, but declined to amend the restrictions on proximity to homes, churches, and schools of which a local businessman said made it impossible to establish business anywhere in the city.

Tier 1 micro-cultivators can have a canopy of 1,000 square feet or less with a one-time application fee of $1,500 and annual license fee of $2,000.

Tier 2 can have a canopy of more than 1,000 square feet but not more than 2,000 square feet with a one-time application fee of $2,500 and annual license fee of $3,500.

Nearest dispensaries in Hattiesburg and Jackson County, could open within weeks

A publicly available registry from the Mississippi Department of Revenue lists six dispensaries in Jackson County as the only businesses in or bordering George and Greene counties licensed to sell. Six others are licensed in Hattiesburg. Currently, 161 total businesses across the state are registered to sell medical marijuana when it becomes available.

State law does not allow for personal growth or any business to grow outdoors.

In a Jan. 9 update, the Mississippi Cannabis Patients Alliance (MCPA) said it expects the first batch of medical marijuana to be tested and dispensaries should be able to open “very soon,” possibly by February. Governor Tate Reeves signed the bill legalizing medical marijuana in February 2022. 

“In checking around the country and talking with other medical cannabis experts, it is clear that Mississippi leaders and regulators have implemented a medical cannabis program in record time,” wrote MCPA founder Angie Calhoun. “Most medical cannabis programs take years to become functional.”

A new director took over the medical marijuana program in the state health department on Jan. 17. A surge of applications for licenses hit a bottleneck in October, drawing some criticism. The office charged with licensing cultivators, workers and labs had only three staffers and no investigators, according to Mississippi Today.

The health department said at that time it had three workers scheduled to start by Nov. 1 with 25 positions to be filled.

As of Jan. 6, the state health department approved 1,512 patients for medical marijuana cards. 

Anyone with a medical marijuana card issued by the state health department can buy and use the product. The standard nonrefundable fee is $25 for the initial application. It is $15 for Medicaid recipients and free for disabled veterans and first responders. Fees are the same for yearly renewal. More information about what medical conditions are eligible to be treated with cannabis is available here.

Full list of dispensaries, as of Jan. 17, 2023:

Full list of other medical marijuana businesses, as of Jan. 13, 2023: