Mississippi Cannabis Growers in Limbo Over Definition of a Greenhouse

Posted by Brian Sparks|March 17, 2022

It’s been well over a month since Mississippi’s Medical Cannabis Act was signed into law. However, potential cannabis growers in Mississippi are hesitant on how to proceed in growing their product.

Ambiguity in the legislation doesn’t specify if greenhouses are considered indoor or outdoor grow. The problem is, outdoor grow is strictly prohibited under the law, and greenhouses are not officially defined in the law.

You don’t have to look far in the 445-page bill. On the second page, the bill reads “Cannabis cultivation facility means a business entity licensed and registered by the Mississippi Department of Health that acquires, grows, cultivates, and harvests medical cannabis in an indoor, enclosed, locked, and secure area.”

Zack Wilson with We are the 74 says that in his conversations with local legislators, the feeling is greenhouses do not offer the same level of security as a brick-and-mortar structure. He vehemently disagrees.

“A greenhouse is totally enclosed, so as far as I’m concerned that is indoor,” Wilson says. “Locked? There are doors. There’s a lock on it, just like any other building. A secure area? That means we put it inside a fence. Myself, personally, I’m in the middle of 200 acres. If somebody were to find my stuff, they would have to fly over it to find it.”