Gluckstadt opts out of marijuana sales

Gluckstadt opts out of marijuana sales

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Gluckstadt has opted out of medical marijuana by a narrow 3-2 vote.

Alderman Wesley Slay made the motion to opt-out and Alderman Lisa Williams seconded the motion. 

Alderman Miya Bates voted with Slay and Williams to opt-out. 

Aldermen John Taylor and Jayce Powell voted against opting out.

Before the vote, Mayor Walter Morrison had called on eight people to speak, including Madison County Sheriff Randy Tucker, a Gluckstadt resident.

The others were: Kim Newburger, Jamar Dawson, Michael Hardy, David Han, Kevin Bullard, David Boackle, and Camp Murphy.

Most Gluckstadt residents who spoke at the meeting were for medical marijuana. 

But Tucker said being a citizen of Gluckstadt, he was obligated to be at the meeting and have a chance to speak against opting in.

“Everyone knew this was coming, but I’m not here to speak for or against it,” Tucker said. “We have 120 days as a city to opt-out or participate in the medical marijuana program. When you talk about enforcement regarding this, there’s a big handicap for law enforcement. It won’t change any DUI laws of that nature, but in other areas like Oklahoma, there were additional crimes and side effects from the marijuana industry. There is a black market that will continue even if medical cannabis is legalized."

Kim Newburger of Madison, with the Mississippi Medical Marijuana Association, spoke next.

“I got involved with medical marijuana in March 2019, and I helped run the Initiative 65 campaign,” Newburger said. “What I’m here to talk about is Gluckstadt and what it means to the medical marijuana industry. Gluckstadt is growing, I go to church here, and it’s an impressive place to come and invest. The industry thinks this can be a place to work together with the local jurisdiction. We ask that you stay in.”

Jamar Dawson of Gluckstadt said he is not for recreational use of medical marijuana.

“I see the benefits of medical marijuana, and I hope this board sees what opportunities this will bring and what we’ll be missing out on,” Dawson said.

Michael Hardy of Gluckstadt, who works with Magnolia Hemp Company in Madison, said Mississippians want a medical cannabis program.

“If the board decides to opt-out tonight, there will be a petition that will go out, and people will sign it and be passionate about it,” Hardy said. “I think it’ll ultimately be overturned. My wife and I got into this business in 2019 with the expectation of the law passing, and I want to hope that based on your recent experience of gathering votes and wanting to build a community, you know that opting out is not going to create any additional law enforcement challenges.”

David Han of Madison said he was not born in Mississippi, but he came to the state less than a year ago and moved here for the medical cannabis industry.

“The truth is that while I’ve been working in this industry all around the country over the past decade, I’ve seen miracles from this plant,” Han said. “People’s lives are being changed for the better, not for the worst. In Colorado, I saw schools and roads being built, and underprivileged children sent to college just from cannabis revenue.”

“In Colorado, I remember a patient given two months to live with multiple brain tumors, and after moving to Colorado from Tennessee, and after I put her on a regimen, she was still shopping at our dispensary two years later,” Han said. “That’s just one example.”

Kevin Bullard said he is against medical marijuana due to how the law is written and the criminal activity it could bring to Gluckstadt.

“I believe that if this substance is approved here, crime will follow, and this city will become a target for criminal activity,” Bullard said.

David Boackle said he believes there is scientific evidence that medical marijuana helps people, and the city should embrace the opportunity to decrease human suffering among neighbors.

“I would welcome the medical marijuana community to Gluckstadt with the expectation they follow the planning and zoning rules and abide by them like everyone else,” Boackle said.

Camp Murphy of Madison asked the board not to opt out.

“According to the law, there are quite a few protections for having dispensaries on every corner,” Murphy said. “You have limitations on where they can be and how far apart they are, so there won’t be one from door to door. I think you have plenty of protection from state law to prevent you from being overrun.”






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