BRANDON, Miss. (WJTV) – The City of Brandon is now the next city to opt out of the state’s new medical marijuana program.
Brandon’s Mayor and Board of Alderman met on Monday, March 7 to vote on whether the city will opt out of the cultivation, processing and sale of medical marijuana.
At the meeting, neighbors of Brandon expressed why they thought the city should or should not opt out of the state’s new medical marijuana program.
“The marijuana industry is in it for somehow normalizing drug use. Citizens are against this and it’s unfortunate we have to live with this as a possibility.”
“Medical cannabis, it’s been around a long time. They’ve been using it for centuries.”
The Mississippi Cannabis Patients Alliance argued that the board should table the vote– since a decision did not have to be made until May 3, but that attempt failed with a vote of 5-2. The board of alderman then voted five to two again in favor of opting out of the program– a decision that Ward 2 Alderman Cris Vinson said he stands behind 100%.
“I have read the bill, front to cover, all 425 pages of it. there are things in there. I’m for medical marijuana, I’ve had a sibling that qualified for it, my wife qualified for it, but there are things in this bill that will not change between now and the time the deadline hit to opt out. If the legislature goes back in session next year and sees some things that they want to change, then I’ll look at it again.”
Medical marijuana advocates say they are disappointed in this decision and said the board should have taken more time to do their research.
“I’m truly heartbroken for the patients of Brandon that their board of aldermen have taken this hasty vote when they have not done the research. I’ve talked to every one of them and they have told me that they know very little about it and I’m surprised because one of the aldermen that said he read the bill, as of a couple of day ago, he had not read the bill,” said Angie Calhoun, Founder, Mississippi Cannabis Patient Alliance.
But others said the right decision was made tonight.
“I believe that this medical marijuana bill that’s passed misses the mark. When you read through the first 85 pages of it, you can see it’s not true medical marijuana.”
Medical marijuana advocates said their fight is not over yet in Brandon.
The Mississippi Cannabis Trade Association will be hosting a signature drive soon in hopes of getting 1,500 signatures to get the issue on a ballot. The city could also opt back in to the program at any time.