Greenwood Mayor Carolyn McAdams says she will address the next steps for Greenwood’s medical marijuana plans at Tuesday’s meeting of the City Council.
In April, Greenwood chose to opt out of the state’s medical marijuana program. The legislation allows for cities or counties to opt back in at any time.
McAdams acknowledges that the issue has been “on the back burner” since the opt-out.“We’ve kind of let it go by the wayside with all the stuff going on,” she said. “We’ve all been dealing with hospital matters and things of that nature,” referring to the possible affiliation of financially troubled Greenwood Leflore Hospital with a larger medical facility.
The intention on medical marijuana was to sit back and learn about the details of the legislation regulating the cultivation and sale of the drug.
McAdams said she intends to address the council and meet with attorneys with the Mississippi Municipal League “to see what policy and what changes we can actually make.”
Greenwood is one of 86 cities to have opted out from the program, according to the Mississippi Department of Revenue. Leflore County has also opted out, joining 18 other counties.
McAdams said there is still plenty of time to work out how Greenwood will approach the program.
“There’s no pressure,” she said. “ ... we can opt back in at any time.”
She said she has received only one call in the last several weeks about the status of medical marijuana. This was from a citizen inquiring about cultivation requirements.
“Usually, people would be calling (and asking), ‘What are you going to do? What are you going to do?’ because people have been wanting to set up a dispensary,” she said. However, she added, that has not been the case. “I have not had one question asked to me about setting up a dispensary.”
- Contact Kevin Edwards at 662-581-7233 or kedwards@gwcommonwealth.com.
