TUPELO • Like fellow medical marijuana dispensers, Jason Truong must contend with decades of stigma against cannabis use, let alone sell cannabis.
But he and his business partner, Reed Turner, plan to open the aptly named High Hopes Cannabis in January, so the 23-year-old is poised to do just that.
Located at 1201 N. Gloucester Street, Suite E, Crai Like Plaza, Tupelo, next to Mariner Finance and Funky Corn.
For Truong, a venture is the pursuit of a lifelong dream.
“I went to school all my life to be a doctor, and I still want to be a doctor.” And after starting this venture, who would say I couldn’t go back to medical school?”
But there are additional challenges that Truong faces. A graduate of Tupelo High School and a cum laude in biochemistry from the University of Mississippi, Truong is the son of immigrants from Vietnam. He has the support of his brother and other relatives, but has not told his parents that he dropped out of medical school.
“Well, I guess this is when the news comes out for them,” he said. increase.”
Nonetheless, he’s pushing forward with bold plans to open a clinic, which he describes as sleek and modern, like an Apple store. Staff wear medical scrubs, so there can be no doubt that cannabis use is for prescribed use only.
High Hopes Cannabis is one of 11 dispensaries licensed to sell medical cannabis in Lee County, according to the latest list from the Mississippi Department of Revenue. That’s more than any county in the state. Harrison County on the Gulf Coast has the second-highest number of ten.
The rest of northeastern Mississippi has four licensed clinics in Lafayette County, three in Oktibbeha County, and one each in Alcorn and Prentiss counties.
Optometrist Joe Care is another Tupelo licensee. Like Chuong, he also believes that medical cannabis can be beneficial.
Because he saw it at work. He and friend Jeff Webb, a Carthage attorney, have become his partners in the business because of his experience with the medicinal properties of marijuana.
“One of our best friends from college died of pancreatic cancer seven or eight years ago, and we’ve seen what happened to him,” Kea said. “At the time, they only had cannabis products for people with epilepsy. But his oncologist gave him THC and it really extended his life.”
Years later, Kea and Webb decided to open a dispensary once medical marijuana legislation was passed. These plans have now expanded to five He Green Magnolia Dispensary locations statewide.
In Tupelo, Green Magnolia is located at 3437 Tupelo Commons Suite 101, next to Crossroads Rehabilitation Services.
“It’s for good reason,” Care said. “It’s very regulated. A lot of people think having one of these establishments makes them feel like vagrants in their 40s smoking weed outside with their hands up. But , There are 30 to 40 cameras here, plus you can’t even enter without an ID card.Everything you do and touch is monitored and strictly regulated.
An overwhelming majority of voters in Mississippi approved the sale of medical marijuana in November 2020. More than 816,107 Mississippians voted for some kind of medical marijuana plan. This represents his 68.5% of those who were for or against medical marijuana.
But the state’s Supreme Court annulled the results of that election six months later, ruling that the initiative had not been properly voted for.
The legislative alternative, Initiative 65, was approved by 766,478 Mississippians, a margin of 73.5%.
In February, Governor Tate Reeves signed an amendment to the law allowing medical use of marijuana for people with debilitating conditions such as cancer, AIDS and sickle cell disease.
After Reeves signed the bill into law, Truong knew that opening a dispensing pharmacy required a solid business plan and the ability to attract investors. Time was of the essence. After all, the companies that enter the market first earn the most rewards.
Truong was completing his second semester of medical school and the door was open.
“I knew I had to do it because I couldn’t do it in the future,” he said.
The new law requires a license fee of $40,000. Clinics should be at least 1,000 feet away from churches and schools. A clinic cannot be more than 1,500 feet from another clinic.
Patients can purchase up to 3.5 grams of cannabis per day up to six days a week. That’s about 3 ounces per month.The law imposes a tax on the production and sale of cannabis and stipulates that the plant must be grown indoors under controlled conditions.
Under regulations set by the department, medical marijuana businesses can have a website and logo to brand their business, but they cannot do other marketing or advertising. allowed to have a site.
Truong is advised by Turner’s father, Frank, who is a business consultant for High Hopes. A 40-year veteran in the furniture industry, he offers invaluable advice to his son and his Truong.
“I am strictly an advisor, offering advice and hopefully wisdom,” he said. “I enjoy watching it. It calls attention to potential danger ahead, but Jason is often already aware of it.”
Frank Turner believes in the efficacy of medical marijuana and that is why he is involved.
“We can make a difference on the healthcare front, but it will be an uphill battle to change the perception of the market that the government started in the ’60s.” Only now has information about medical cannabis come to light.”
High Hopes will open in January, but we expect Green Magnolia to open by November.
“I think some growers and growers will be able to get their flowers by November 1st,” said Kea. “We have to find someone to sell to us. I think the country will set the price and it will be very high soon. increase.”
The new law also requires pharmacies to purchase only from Mississippi producers.
Care believes it’s a good thing.
“Taxes are good for the country and patients will definitely benefit,” he said. “It’s really good for people in pain.”
Kea acknowledges that medical marijuana use isn’t for everyone, but believes it can help many Mississippians. That’s why he’s getting into the business.
Anything that helps ease people’s pain is a net plus.
“If cannabis happens to be one of those alternatives and you don’t have to prescribe opioids or brain-altering chemicals or depression or anxiety, cannabis is the way to go, especially since it’s regulated by the state. I think I deserve it,” he said.
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