Plans Shared For Cannabis Distribution Site In The City
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Michael Watkins provided an overview of operations for a proposed cannabis distribution site in Water Valley.
WATER VALLEY – County officials were provided details about plans for a proposed cannabis distribution site in Water Valley. Michael Watkins, COO and co-founder of Hilltop Brands, provided information about the transport business that includes a proposed distribution site in a 2,500 square feet building on South Main Street across from Odom Rural Health Clinic.
The distribution facility, not to be confused with a dispensary, will not be open to the public. Instead the site will be used for short-term storage, mainly for overnight or weekends, as Watkins’ transport company hauls cannabis products between processors, wholesale and retail manufacturers and dispensaries.
The intent of the Watkins’ visit at Monday’s Board of Supervisor meeting in the Water Valley courthouse was to seek clarity about state regulations that require a minimum of 1,000 feet distance from a school, church or daycare for a cannabis business.
The county-owned hospital property tract directly across South Main Street from the proposed cannabis site includes Cotten Candy Kids Daycare on Frostland Drive. But Board Attorney Shannon Crow clarified that the distance would be measured from the smaller, two-acre tract where the daycare is situated and not from the Main Street boundary of the property.
“There was a survey of the daycare property that is approximately two acres,” Crow explained.
The attorney calculated that the distance between the daycare property tract to the centerline of South Main is 413 yards.
“So that is over 1,000 feet,” the attorney explained.
Watkins’ visit also triggered questions about the operation including the operation of the business, security protocol and potential odor issues from the cannabis in the building.
Board President Cayce Washington cited a strong odor that permeates the air from a grow house located on Hwy. 32.
“I drove by the grow house and had my windows down. That stuff will knock you down. I am very sensitive to the neighbors, how is this going to impact that family who is taking their child to Dollar General?” Washington asked.
Watkins explained the distribution site is different from a cultivation site where the plants are grown, and the cannabis is not packaged or sealed.
“We are going to have carbon filters, we are looking at doing a UV addition to the HVAC system that kills all the germs and smell,” Watkins answered.
“Will there be any physical sales that transpire at that location?” Washington also asked.
“To alleviate concerns, no single person can walk into our building and purchase anything,” Watkins explained. “We will have signs on the door saying ‘not open to the public.’ Everything is going to be locked to the gills. Think of it as a weigh station. We might keep something overnight in a locked facility because we need to logistically. But our goal is to have it going from store to store, sale to sale.”
Watkins also said there will be strong security both at the site and while the product is transported. He added that all sales are done by third parties and his company will get a manifest through the state system. A route plan is required and an in-house dispatch system will be used.
“We are just facilitating the movement,” Watkins reiterated “Seventy-two hours is the most I would like to hold anything.”
The Mississippi State Department of Health website currently lists two licensed medical cannabis establishments in Yalobusha County, both cultivation operations. New Altitude Farms, LLC, is a cultivation facility located at 536 County Road 95 owned by Lorri Williamson. DTS Pharms, LLC, is a micro-cultivation facility located at 53 County Road 50 owned by Danny Jaudon and Timothy Russell.
