MJBizMag January 2023 - 42

New York
Maryland
Playing
the Blues
Low incomes and lack
of cannabis business
experience are likely
to be issues as state
prepares to welcome
medical marijuana
By Omar Sacirbey
Missouri
M
ississippi has one of the more
liberal medical marijuana
laws in the U.S.-meaning it is
both business- and patient-friendly. But
cannabis entrepreneurs there face the
challenge of making money in what is, by
most measures, the poorest state in the
nation. Still, there will be opportunities.
" Mississippi ... put forth a bill that
is both really great for patients and
really great for all different types
of businesses, " said attorney Lisa
Pittman of Pittman Legal in Austin,
Texas, which advises clients in
Mississippi. " I feel like they're trying
to set it up for success every which way
that they can think of-on behalf of
businesses, on behalf of patients-and
just not making anything too tricky or
hard on the state either. "
FRIENDLY TO MJ, BUSINESSES
Mississippi voters passed a medical
marijuana ballot measure with a
reported 69% of the vote, suggesting
strong support for medical cannabis.
The state Supreme Court voided that
measure.
42 January 2023 | MJBizMagazine
The new law will allow patients to
buy up to 3.5 grams of marijuana per
day, up to six days a week-totaling up
to 3 ounces per month.
Through late October, business
licenses had been issued to 47 cultivators,
138 dispensaries, eight processors,
four transportation entities, three
state-mandated " disposal companies, "
two testing labs and 491 work permits
(people certified as legally cleared to
work in cannabis).
" Anyone who wants to give it a go can
give it a shot, " Pittman said, explaining
that the low application and licensing
fees make the program accessible to
anyone " without trying to force some
kind of a social equity regime onto the
program, which we see in state after
state ... tripped up in litigation, and
then no one benefits. "
" They also carefully set up a regime
to protect small local businesses, "
Pittman said, pointing to different
tiers of licensing. " A smaller cultivation
(business) or a smaller processor pays a
much smaller licensing fee and a much
smaller application fee. And it all depends
on how big your facility is. Those
are really wonderful features that make
it more accessible to all. "
Mississippi also hopes to even the
playing field between small and large
companies by forbidding marijuana
businesses from owning more than 10%
of another cannabis company.
" It's a little bit artificial, but (it's)
allowing this even playing field to
develop so that the smaller momand-pop
shops can build their brand
recognition and their customer loyalty
before one of these bigger companies
comes in, " Pittman said.
For cultivators, it's worth noting that
plants must be grown indoors.
THE POOREST PATIENTS
For cannabis entrepreneurs, Mississippi's
business-friendly regulations and
low operations overhead are attractive
features. But business owners also face
the challenge of doing business in a
state with extreme poverty.
Roughly 19% of Mississippi's population
lives beneath the poverty line,
according to the 2020 U.S. Census. That
MJBizMag January 2023

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