Local store owner plans to open medical marijuana dispensary

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI)- It’s been five months since Governor Tate Reeves signed the Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act into law.

Hundreds of business owners and growers across the state now search for locations to start their operations.

But before any sale can be made, distributors must complete a request form.

The Mississippi Department of Revenue is accepting applications for Medical Cannabis Dispensary Licenses.

A familiar business owner was recently authorized to sell medical marijuana products to patients. She said construction plans are currently underway.

” There were a ton of obstacles that we had to overcome to get approved,” said Huff.

You may know Nicole Huff as a longtime baker and owner of Southern Flour Bakery on HWY 45.

Now, the dessert connoisseur is adding a second business to her resume.

In just five months, this building will become a new medical marijuana dispensary, Wildflower.

” In 2007, I had a really bad car accident. I ended up having back surgery. I have titanium in my back. Over the years, it’s gotten worse to the point where they put me on several different pain medications. Every single one wasn’t working,” said Huff.

Huff needed relief, that’s when she turned to a herbal alternative.

“It was a game changer for me. I thought if this is working for me, I thought how many people are going through the same thing that I’m going through,” said Huff.

For months, she researched the medicinal benefits of cannabis and the effect of how strains are linked to reducing pain.

” I started talking to other people. My mom had cancer, she needed it,” said Huff.

So, Huff started the road to opening a dispensary. The month-long process required several steps.

“Altogether the application was about $40,000. We submitted that to the state. The building had to be surveyed. We had to do several different SOP’s. The state wanted to know how we would handle security, and the seed to sell operation,” said Huff.

Construction will take place in August and WildFlower will be up and running by the end of the year.

” We have several bids right now on construction and I want to go over those. I have quite a bit of time to get all the construction done and get all my security in place, and then we’ll start ordering products to fill it,” said Huff.

Cannabis growers and other suppliers will provide Wildflower with a wide variety of products to choose from.

The Mississippi Medical Cannabis Act states dispensaries must be at least 1,500 feet away from each other.