TUPELO • Like other medical marijuana distributors, Jason Truong has to contend with years of stigmatization of cannabis sales and use.
But the 23-year-old is fully prepared to do so, as he and his business partner Reid Turner plan to open the aptly named Hypes Cannabis in January.
Located at 1201 N. Gloster St., Suite E at Crye-Leike Plaza in Tupelo next to Mariner Finance and Funky Cones.
For Truong, creativity is about pursuing a long-held dream.
“I’ve been going to school to be a doctor all my life, and I still want to be a doctor,” he said. “I want to help people, and in many ways, that’s what I do. And after starting this job, who’s to say I can’t go back to medical school?”
But there is an additional challenge that Truong faces. A graduate of Tupelo High School and an honors graduate in biochemistry from the University of Mississippi, Truong is the son of Vietnamese immigrants. With the support of his siblings and some relatives, he did not tell his parents about dropping out of medical school.
“Well, I think this news will go out to them,” he said. But ultimately, I hope they come around and see that this is a great thing.
However, he is making bold plans to open a factory that he says is designed to be sleek and modern, just like an Apple store. The staff wear medical scrubs so there is no doubt that cannabis use is for prescribed use only.
High Hope Cannabis is one of 11 vendors licensed to sell medical cannabis in Lee County, according to the latest Mississippi Department of Revenue list — more than any other county in the state. Harrison County, on the Gulf Coast, has the second most with 10.
In the rest of Northeast Mississippi, Lafayette County has four licensed dispensaries, Octibeha County has three, and Alcorn and Prentiss counties each have one.
Ophthalmologist Joe Kay is another licensee in Tupelo. Like Truong, he also believes medical cannabis is beneficial.
Because he saw it at work. He and his friend Jeff Webb are business partners at Carthage Attorneys because of their experience with the medicinal properties of marijuana.
“One of our closest friends in college died of pancreatic cancer seven or eight years ago and we saw what it did,” he said. “At that time, they only had cannabis products for people with epilepsy. But his oncologist got him some THC, and it really extended his life.”
Fast forward a few years, and Kea and Webb decided they would open a dispensary when medical cannabis legislation passed. Those plans have now grown to five Green Magnolia distribution locations in the state.
In Tupelo, Green Magnolia is located at 3437 Tupelo Commons Suite 101 next to Crossroads Rehabilitation Services.
“It’s a good cause,” said Kea. “It’s very regulated. I think a lot of people feel that when you have one of these facilities, you’re going to have 40-somethings on their hands and outside smoking weed. But here we have 30-40 cameras, and you can’t even get in without an ID card. Everything you do and touch is monitored and controlled. it is.
An overwhelming majority of Mississippi voters approved the sale of medical marijuana in November 2020. More than 816,107 Mississippians voted in favor of the medical marijuana plan. This represents 68.5% of those who either favored or opposed medical marijuana.
But the state Supreme Court overturned the results of that election six months later, ruling that the election was not properly on the ballot.
The legislative alternative, Initiative 65, was approved by 766,478 Mississippians, a margin of 73.5%.
In February, Gov. Tate Reeves signed an amended version of the law allowing medical marijuana to be used for people with conditions such as cancer, AIDS and sickle cell disease.
After Reeves signed the bill into law, Truong knew he needed to have a bulletproof business plan and attract investors — to open a dispensary. Time was of the essence. The first to market reaps the best prize.
Truong was finishing his second semester at med school, and the door was opening.
“I knew I had to go because I couldn’t do it in the future,” he said. “If you don’t get in early, you usually never get in.”
The new law requires a $40,000 license fee. Outlets must be located at least 1,000 feet from a church or school. A substation cannot be closer than 1,500 feet from another substation.
Patients can buy up to 3.5 grams of cannabis per day for up to six days a week. That’s about 3 ounces a month. The law places a tax on the production and sale of cannabis.
Under regulations set by the department, medical marijuana businesses may have websites and logos to mark their businesses, but may not conduct any other marketing or advertising. They are allowed to have websites.
Truong is getting advice from Turner’s father, Frank, who serves as High Hopes’ business advisor. A veteran of the furniture industry for nearly 40 years, he’s helping to give his son and Truong valuable advice.
“I am strictly a sound board, giving advice and hopefully some wisdom,” he said. “I’m watching it and enjoying it. If I see potential danger in the future, I’ll focus on it, but Jason took it too long.”
Frank Turner believes in the efficacy of medical marijuana, which is why he participates.
“We can bring about a change in the face of medicine, but we will have an uphill battle by changing the perception of the market place that the government started in the 60s,” he said. “Patients and doctors need options, and only now is information about medical cannabis emerging.”
While High Hope is opening in January, Green Mangolia thinks it can open in November.
“I think some growers and farmers will have flowers in early November,” Kea said. “We need to find someone to sell to us. The state will set the price, and I think it will be very high out of the gate. But I believe the market will regulate itself, and they will be better.”
The new law also requires dispensaries to buy only from Mississippi growers.
Kea believes it’s a good thing.
“The tax dollars will be good for the state, and certainly the patients will benefit,” he said. “It’s really good for people with pain.”
Kea admits that using medical marijuana isn’t for everyone, but he believes that many Mississippians will. That’s why he’s getting into the business.
Anything that helps relieve people’s pain is positive.
“If cannabis is one of those options and you don’t have to prescribe opioids or mind-altering chemicals or anxiety or depression, I think they deserve that way, especially as it’s regulated by the government,” he said. .
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