Dear Editor:
This letter is being submitted as clarification and rebuttal on a recent article that was written by Mr. Allen Martinson and printed in the March 10th edition of The Northside Sun. Foremost, Mr. Martinson is correct in that he and I have a wonderful relationship. I cherish the friendship I have with him and his immediate family. The Martinsons are a tremendous asset to the City of Ridgeland, and we are blessed to have them as residents and business owners.
However, Mr. Martinson stated in his article that fear is the reason the City of Ridgeland decided to opt out of becoming a municipality allowing for various businesses associated with medical cannabis to open shop in our city. In actuality, the reason the Board voted to opt out is due to the inadequate time allowed by the new Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act. Most probably do not know this, but the Act, of which in its entirety is hundreds of pages long, only allows counties and cities 90 days from the effective date to make the decision to opt out. That 90-day window began February 2, 2022.
Another factor buried in the Act is if a city or county does not choose to opt out within that 90-day time frame, there will never be another opportunity to do so. However, a city or county can choose to opt in at any point in the future. The City was placed in a Catch-22 situation with less than a few months to prepare for this very unique situation, and our Board chose to be proactive and exercise the right to opt out during the only interval that was legally allowed, which was now or never.
In Ridgeland, we pride ourselves with carefully planning and considering the future of any new zoning regulations for the betterment of our citizens and businesses and their property values. Additionally, there are security measures, traffic and parking demands, and many other factors that need to be carefully considered before jumping into the unknown.
Our law enforcement is likewise just as unprepared for this extraordinary situation. There is a tremendous risk of crime increasing in areas surrounding businesses that cultivate, distribute, or dispense medical cannabis.
Furthermore, the black market production of counterfeit identification cards, the allowable weights that can be legally possessed, and the inability to distinguish between medical and non-medical cannabis found in a card carrier's possession are all situations looming over the heads of our officers.
I am aware of the economic benefits that may arise from cultivating, distributing, or dispensing medical cannabis in and around Ridgeland; I am also aware of the medical benefits it can provide to those in need, which I don't dispute. A devil's advocate might also say the costs of crime prevention and drug abuse could outweigh any economic benefit. Opting out was the only viable option available in order for us to reasonably think through a historical event in our state without diving head first into a dry swimming pool.
Gene F. McGee, Ridgeland Mayor
