Biloxi Council Rejects Medical Hashish Dispensary Close to Beau Rivage
A Biloxi on line casino has gained over native metropolis officers in its considering that Mississippi’s forthcoming medical hashish trade shouldn’t be allowed to open dispensaries close to the beachfront resorts.
The proprietor of Fill-Up with Billups restaurant throughout from the Beau Rivage Resort & On line casino in Biloxi, Ms., desires to exchange the diner with a medical hashish dispensary. However MGM Resorts says marijuana companies shouldn’t be allowed close to its on line casino. (Picture: Fill-Up with Billups)
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves (R) signed the state’s Medical Hashish Act into regulation in February. The statute permits people identified with sure medical circumstances to obtain medical marijuana from a licensed hashish dispensary.
The Mississippi Division of Income and Division of Well being are dealing with dispensary functions and the issuance of licenses. Up to now, 10 companies in Harrison County, residence to Biloxi, have obtained hashish meting out privileges.
Together with the state businesses, candidates should obtain native approval earlier than opening a medical hashish dispensary. One such applicant sought to open a marijuana facility straight throughout from MGM Resorts’ Beau Rivage Resort & On line casino. The Biloxi Metropolis Council this week rejected that location after fielding opposition from the gaming property.
Casinos and Hashish Don’t Combine
Industrial casinos are required to stick to all federal legal guidelines. And with hashish remaining a Schedule 1 narcotic on the federal stage, casinos should keep far-off from the growth of authorized marijuana use and states’ decriminalization of the plant.
The Gulf Coast is the place the majority of the Mississippi gaming trade’s annual income is realized. Of the almost $2.67 billion gained final yr by the 26 casinos within the state, the 11 coastal casinos accounted for $1.6 billion of the cash.
Beau Rivage is the Gulf Coast chief, and property Vice President and Normal Counsel Anthony DelVescovo says authorized marijuana gross sales shouldn’t be permitted in such shut proximity to the MGM on line casino. Talking earlier than the Biloxi Metropolis Council this week, the MGM official urged the native authorities to maintain medical hashish dispensaries additional away from the resorts.
We do consider they [medical cannabis dispensaries] belong in sure areas,” DelVescovo mentioned. However a kind of areas, he defined, isn’t proper in entrance of the Beau Rivage.
Native Biloxi businessman and restauranteur Area Nicaud is looking for to enter the state hashish trade. He desires to institute a medical dispensary on property he owns throughout Seashore Boulevard from Beau Rivage. Nicaud at the moment runs the Fill-Up with Billups restaurant on the property.
MGM opposed the placement of the proposed dispensary, because it’s straight throughout from its on line casino and adjoining to MGM Park, residence of the Biloxi Shuckers Minor League Baseball crew. DelVescovo advised the council that the ballpark is family-oriented, and protracted smells of hashish can be a detriment to the expertise.
MGM Touts Neighborhood Significance
Beau Rivage is Biloxi’s largest employer and largest taxpayer. MGM says its affect extends far past its resort partitions. DelVescovo advised the council that MGM spends $40 million to $50 million a yr on advertising and marketing Mississippi’s Gulf Coast to vacationers throughout the southern states.
Donovan Scruggs, an lawyer representing Nicaud, believes MGM efficiently used scare ways to win over the Biloxi Metropolis Council. Scruggs mentioned the state’s medical marijuana program prohibits public consumption, that means these worries concerning hashish odors don’t carry weight.
State lawmakers would wish to cross extra legal guidelines so as to enable medical marijuana individuals to devour their authorized purchases anyplace aside from of their non-public residences.
