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Vicksburg’s medical marijuana ordinances outlined
With the passage of the Medical Cannabis Act in February of 2022, questions have risen about how the City of Vicksburg will proceed. During Wednesday’s Board of Mayor and Alderman meeting, the city’s medical marijuana ordinances were outlined.
Applications will be available in July from the Mississippi Department of Health. Within 30 days, the Department of Revenue will start issuing licenses. A checklist of items are available on the Mississippi Department of Revenue’s website for those wishing to open and operate a dispensary.
For those wishing to get a card for medical marijuana, they must have at least one qualifying condition such as cancer, glaucoma or hepatitis. A full list of qualifying conditions are available on the Department of Health’s website.
Aside from having at least one of the qualifying conditions, a recommendation letter must be supplied by a health care practitioner the patient has a bona fide relationship with. The registration card will cost $25.
Under amendments to the city’s zoning ordinance, those who operate a dispensary in the city will not be allowed to open before 8 a.m. or close after 9 p.m. Further amendments to the ordinance include:
- Dispensaries cannot be located within 1,000 feet of a school, church or child care facility unless that establishment provides a waiver. Even with a waiver, a 500 foot limit will till be imposed.
- Dispensaries must provide a survey from a licensed surveyor to ensure the 1,000 foot limit is within the city’s ordinance.
- Dispensaries cannot have a main point of entry within 1,500 feet of another dispensary.
- No one under 21 will be allowed within a dispensary, unless that individual has a medical marijuana card, without being accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Zoning restrictions for facilities will be required them to be established in the C-4 general commercial zone, which is established for commercial use which will generate a lot of traffic. Locations within this zone include Pemberton Square Blvd, Clay St. and Mission 66.
Cultivation facilities will be allowed to operate within the L-1 light industrial zone.
Dispensaries will only be allowed to sell medical cannabis, equipment used for medical cannabis and educational material.
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