Mississippi medicinal weed grower ordered to destroy $1 million worth of crops

Mississippi’s medical marijuana regulators announced that the largest cannabis grower to date licensed by the state has been ordered to destroy thousands of plants worth about $1 million for failing to follow regulations. Mockingbird Cannabis LLC has also been ordered to shut down some operations and make improvements at one of its cultivation sites, according to the Mississippi Department of Health and Human Services.

Mississippi voters legalized medical marijuana in the state in 2020 with the passage of the Measure 65 initiative, though regulated sales of medical cannabis are not expected to begin until early next year, according to an update from state officials released Thursday.

In early October, an article and photos published by Mississippi Today reported on a Mockingbird facility growing cannabis plants in violation of state regulations. Mockingbird had reportedly grown plants in ripening houses at a site 12 miles from its main facility. The company had failed to enter the plants at the site into the government’s seed-to-sale tracking system and failed to comply with required safety standards. A Mockingbird official said about 20,000 plants were grown at the facility.

In response, the health department sent a letter to the company detailing corrective actions it should take, but declined to answer questions about the situation. Competing medical cannabis growers protested, arguing that Mockingbird would be allowed to grow medical marijuana without complying with regulations, giving the company a competitive advantage while the regulated market prepares for launch. Competing growers were reportedly told that cultivation had to be confined to one location and could not take place in greenhouses.

Mississippi Regulators impose sanctions

On Thursday, Kris Jones Adcock, the director of the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Program, announced that state regulators had taken further action against Mockingbird.

“There is an order where they have to partially shut down operations and impact their operations and make some capital improvements to meet those corrective actions,” Adcock said at a news conference on Thursday. “They also had to destroy a number of plants in their inventory…I don’t know the exact number, over $1 million worth of inventory was destroyed — about 5,000 plants to be exact.”

Mockingbird co-founder Marcy Croft declined to answer questions Thursday about the department’s actions, but sent a written statement to Mississippi Today pledging to “continue fully with the Mississippi Department of Health, our fellow growers, Pharmacy owners and healthcare providers to work together to ensure there is a robust and effective marketplace in our state.”

Although 47 growers have already been licensed to grow medicinal cannabis in Mississippi, the Department of Health has reported that the medicinal marijuana program is in a preliminary phase, with only three employees and no investigators hired yet. Despite the apparent lack of oversight, state health commissioner Dr. Dan Edney on Thursday said he was fairly confident that significant amounts of marijuana were not being diverted into the illicit market and that preventing diversion was the department’s top priority. Officials said they expect to hire nine more staff by the end of November and sign deals with private companies to help comply.

“We’re doing this to the best of our ability,” Edney said. “We won’t be able to get that to zero, but we’re doing our best under the regulator that’s been delegated to us… and as we hire more staff next month, it’ll get easier.”

Cannabis will be in pharmacies by next year

State regulators provided an update on the progress of the rollout of Mississippi’s medical marijuana program, which received voter approval nearly two years ago with the passage of Introduced Measure 65. Officials said while progress is being made as the program rolls out, dispensary sales of medical marijuana are not expected to begin until early 2023.

“It will be late this year or sometime early next year before the product is tested and available,” Adcock said, according to a Clarion Ledger report.

As of Oct. 27, state regulators had issued medical marijuana licenses to 406 patients, 117 physicians, 138 dispensaries, 47 growers, eight processors, three disposal companies, and two testing labs, as well as 491 work permits. All permitted companies have been issued provisional licenses valid for 120 days, allowing state regulators to monitor the companies before issuing a long-term license.

“I think we have enough doctors now to care for the patients who are currently certified, but we will be recruiting more,” Edney said. “We’re seeing an increase in the number of physicians interested in the program every day, and we’re seeing an increase in the number of patients interested in the program every day.”

Edney added that the health department had “done Yeoman’s job” in creating a new program in a short amount of time, noting that the program’s “main tenets” would be to ensure public safety and “avoid any opportunity for distraction so.” to reduce as much as possible.”

“Make no mistake, the agency has regulated this industry from day one and will continue to do so,” Edney said.