Read through a list of the names of medical marijuana dispensaries and you might conclude they convey an approach more mellow than medicinal.
For example, in northeast Jackson, there’s Uptown Funk on East County Line Road, Kush Vibez on the I-55 North Frontage Road, and Rootdown, which is expected to open on Old Canton Road in spring 2024.
State regulations on the marketing of medical cannabis are incredibly stringent, and one way a dispensary can stand out is with a memorable name, said Denton Gibbes, president of The Gibbes Company in Ridgeland, which specializes in business and marketing plans as well as creative designs.
“The only way players within the industry can compete for awareness and ultimately preference is through the promotion of their brand identity,” he said. “That is why you see company names that are unique and stand out from the fray. The most successful companies will be the ones that parlay awareness through an outstanding customer experience.”
Ross Ethridge of Madison, one of the founders of Rootdown that has dispensaries open in Canton, Ocean Springs, Richland, Pascagoula and expects to open one in Bay St. Louis before the end of the year and one in Jackson next year, credits Tyler Wyckoff, director of operations and a partner in the business, with the name.
“We were sitting around brainstorming,” Ethridge said, “and he came up with it.
We were trying not to have a typical cannabis name. We wanted something creative but respectful that stood out on its own.
“We’re from Mississippi and our roots are down south. Rootdown felt like a really good name.”
Kelly Williams of Canton, owner and CEO of Kelly’s Green, chose to incorporate her first name in that of the cultivation facility and processing facility that is located in one of the industrial parks in Jackson and the dispensary that opened in November on Old Fannin Road at the reservoir and the dispensaries planned for Hattiesburg and Meridian.
“We did have other names we contemplated,” she said. “The biggest thing was being recognizable. We wanted a name that would be recognizable and distinguishable from other businesses.
“I was born and raised in Mississippi. I wanted to something to capture our core values ad strengths are. We felt like we could do that through a name close to me.”
Jim Perry, one of the 11 members of the Mississippi State Board of Health, said he’s given little thought to the names of the dispensaries, but he’s well aware countless hours went into ensuring state regulations are fair, consistent and transparent for both the industry and patients.
The regulations were crafted so that teens would not be enticed, he said.
“That’s what we saw with tobacco and it caused significant problems,” he said. “The scientific research is pretty clear. If you’re under the age of 25, a little bit of marijuana can cause significant health problems.”
Medical cannabis establishments in Mississippi are prohibited from advertising and marketing in any media, including electronic media, radio, television, unsolicited internet pop-up advertising, social media and print media, including newspapers. Mass text/messaging communications and mass email communications are also not allowed.
No one can window shop at a dispensary because medical cannabis or medical cannabis products are not allowed to be displayed in windows or public view.
Also not allowed are adopt-a-highway signs, electronic interstate signs, solicited paid patient or caregiver reviews, testimonies and endorsements.
No medical cannabis establishment is allowed to engage in advertising that contains any statement or illustration that depicts the actual consumption of cannabis or cannabis products, promotes the overconsumption of cannabis or cannabis products or makes any health, medicinal or therapeutic claims about cannabis or cannabis products.
No safety claims of any type can be made and the image of a cannabis leaf or bud or any image designed or likely to appeal to minors, including cartoons, toys, animal or children or any other likeness, images, characters or phrases that are designed in any manner to be appealing to children and/or youth can be made.
According to state regulations, branding must not target minors, pregnant women, breastfeeding women or promote non-medical use of cannabis.
The ban on advertising has caused one dispensary owner to sue the state, according to a story by Micaela A. Watts of the Memphis Commercial Appeal/USA Today Network.
Clarence Cocroft, the owner of Tru-Source Medical Cannabis in Olive Branch filed a lawsuit earlier this month against the Mississippi Department of Health, the Mississippi Alcoholic Beverage Control Bureau, and the Mississippi Department of Revenue for what his attorneys argue is a clear violation of his First Amendment rights through an advertising ban for state-licensed medical marijuana dispensaries.
Cocroft’s attorneys are seeking a temporary injunction in addition to challenging the ban, according to the story.
As it stands, dispensaries cannot promote the use of cannabis, said Ethridge, a 2003 graduate of Madison Central.
“That’s for prescribing physicians for their patients,” he said. “We’re simply the point of sale with those medical cardholders.”
Restrictions about advertising vary from state to state, Ethridge said. For example, Colorado allows dispensaries to advertise.
To build return customers a dispensary must take a somewhat old-fashioned approach.“The uniqueness of our customer service and the relationships our employees build with customers who are medical cardholders are important,” Ethridge said.
Rootdown hired Ferriss & Company of Jackson, which has designed interiors for some Jackson restaurants that include Pulito Osteria in Belhaven, Tuk Tuk Boom in Highland Village and Sal & Mookie’s New York Pizza & Ice Cream Joint in The District, to name just a few, to create a welcoming environment for its dispensaries.
“We wanted to create a unique experience for Mississippians, so they feel comfortable and at home,” Ethridge said. “We wanted to create a positive emotional response when people see our signage and walk into our stores.”
A dispensary can heighten its attraction by offering sales promotions to existing customers, he said, naming as an example one offered in conjunction with Veterans Day.
Spence Flatgard, an attorney at Watkins & Eager, believes Mississippi’s tightly regulated medical cannabis program has grown at the pace it should with enough cultivators and dispensaries to serve the patients who have obtained the necessary I.D. cards during the almost year it has existed.
“It really is like the gaming industry in that we learned from the mistakes of other states and have a conservative, strict program,” he said.
Flatgard drafted Mississippi’s medical marijuana constitutional initiative that was approved by 74 percent of voters, the largest vote for a constitutional amendment in state history. The Mississippi Legislature subsequently enacted legislation for the program based upon that initiative.
Thirty thousand patients in the state have obtained the necessary I.D. card to buy medical cannabis, he said.
“That’s significant,” he said. “What we’re seeing is 30,000 Mississippians who would have had to suffer or worse, go to the street for illegal, unsafe marijuana, now have a vibrant program where they can get relief from their suffering.”
The Mississippi Health Department website lists 372 businesses (dispensaries, cultivator facilities, processing facilities, transportation entities and disposal entities) that are licensed.
The number of registered dispensaries that have opened does not yet equal the number that have obtained licenses.
“There was a rush to get a license because you wanted to stake your claim,” Flatgard said. “The reality is it’s so capital intensive that you haven’t seen all those licenses issued turned into dispensaries.”
To get started, a dispensary requires a non-refundable application fee of $15,000 and a license fee that costs $25,000, but that’s not all.
At least $500,000 is needed for other expenses, including the intense security that is required, Flatgard said. The license must be renewed annually at a cost of $25,000.
“For that reason, you haven’t seen the proliferation of dispensaries as some people feared,” he said. “In Oklahoma where there was a proliferation of dispensaries, the cost of a license was low. In Mississippi, we did it the right way with a higher licensing fee.”
Perhaps another reason that has kept some individuals from diving into the business is the lack of funding.
“You can’t go to a bank and get a loan,” Flatgard said. “You have to have that capital up front.”
State regulations require dispensaries be 1,500 feet apart from each other and not within 1,000 feet from a church, school or daycare.
“Those buffers are required by law and are another reason you’re not going to see them on every street corner,” said Williams. “We’ve got a ton of churches, schools and day care centers.”
Williams, a lawyer for 16 years who no longer practices, worked to open her business for several years. She was active in the medical marijuana constitutional initiative and prompted to take action after she watched her niece, now 22 and doing well, battle a childhood cancer known as Ewing sarcoma and her father, now deceased, suffer with Alzheimer’s disease.
“I realized the need for choices to mitigate suffering that are safe and effective,” she said.
The cultivation facility that Williams oversees now harvests 400 pounds every 21 days and sells the products it processes at its own dispensary as well as to other dispensaries across the state.
Williams believes there’s still a need to educate the public about the existence of the medical cannabis program.
“A lot of people don’t know we have a medical marijuana program in the state,” she said. “They don’t know they can go see a physician if they have a debilitating condition and try to get an I.D. card.”
Early on, there was a problem finding workers, she said, but Kelly’s Green combatted that by holding its own job fair and assisting individuals with the work permit process and filing the permits for them.
An announcement about the opening of Kelly’s Green dispensary and the need for employees drew a robust response, she said.
“We had 200 people apply in 72 hours,” Williams said. “Not all had their work permits but a handful did.”
