As the deadline to opt out of the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act has passed, Lafayette County is included in the medical cannabis program allowing facilities, for growing and selling, in the county. The city of Oxford has not chosen to opt out of the program as well.

MMCA will allow patients to buy up to 3.5 grams of cannabis per day, up to six days a week. That is about 3 ounces per month. It sets taxes on the production and sale of cannabis, and it specifies that plants must be grown indoors under controlled conditions.

The new law prohibits the state from providing economic development incentives for the cannabis industry. The state often provides tax breaks and financial assistance for roads or water access to industrial sites.

When dispensaries are built, the act specifies that dispensaries must not be within 1,000 feet of a church, school, or daycare or within 1,500 feet of another dispensary.

Counties and cities were allowed to opt out of the program within 90 days of its signing on Feb. 2, 2022, but those that did opt out were allowed to opt back in.

The Lafayette County Board of Supervisors held a public hearing on whether to opt out in March where residents voiced their opinions in favor of legal marijuana in the county. Despite the fervent support for medical marijuana, President Mike Roberts and his fellow board members were not decided at the time.

An opt-out vote date was not set after the public hearing and a discussion on medical marijuana was not held in the following board meetings.