The Oxford Board of Aldermen approved the creation of a new license to be issued by the City Clerk’s office for a medical cannabis business.

City Staff proposed modification to Section 66 Licenses and Taxation for the creation of the new license.

Before opening a medical cannabis business, entrepreneurs must obtain a business privilege license from the City Clerk, receive necessary approvals for a Medical Cannabis Use as required by the city’s Land Development Code and, lastly, obtain a medical cannabis business license from the City Clerk.

To qualify for a permit, applicants must comply with state law. All medical cannabis business applications, reports and documents provided to the state will also be provided to the City of Oxford, including, but not limited to, annual licenses, revocations, reports, notices, violations, etc.

The Medical Cannabis Activities privilege permit could be denied or revoked at any time if a business fails to comply with the ordinance.

All applicants must submit the facility’s location, which has to comply with distance requirements as dictated by state law. Medical cannabis dispensaries must not be within 1,000 feet of a church, school, or daycare or within 1,500 feet of another dispensary.

For the license application, applicants must pay a one-time fee of $1,500 and the annual renewal of that license will cost $1,000.

Mayor Robyn Tannehill expressed her disagreement with the cost of the license application and renewal fees. It was the plan for the city to decide what they would have businesses pay.

“We had hoped that we would be able to charge for our licensing fee what we believe that it will cost us to both oversee this new business category and the policing, the security measures in City Clerk’s Office, responsibilities and inspections, and all of those things,” said Tannehill, “but the state chose to allow themselves to charge an exorbitant fees and limit what municipalities could charge.”

Tannehill said the fees are what they could charge legally.

If any provision in the ordinance is violated, the punishment will be a fine up to $1,000 or imprisonment for term not exceeding 90 days, and the cost of prosecution, or by both such fine and imprisonment, at a Municipal court judge’s discretion.

Read the Medical Cannabis License Memo

The Mississippi Department of Revenue will begin licensing medical cannabis dispensaries starting July 1, 2022.

Applications for cannabis cultivation, processing, and cannabis waste management facilities are now available and can be found on the Mississippi State Department of Health’s page on the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Program. All applications and pre-application checklists can be found on the site as well.

The MSDH’s Medical Cannabis page also lists general information, outlines, checklists and links for the various licenses for medical practitioners, patients and caregivers, facilities or services for those looking to register and apply.