NATCHEZ, Miss. — Mayor Dan Gibson said he doesn’t expect Natchez aldermen will outlaw the sale or growing of medical marijuana as cities have the option to do with a new state law the state Legislature passed in January.
Gov. Tate Reeves signed the bill into law early this month to legalize marijuana that health-care providers can prescribe to patients with cancer or other serious illnesses.
City and county boards have until early May to opt out of allowing medical marijuana dispensaries or farmers in their communities.
Gibson pointed to the overwhelming vote of support (65 percent) for medical marijuana by Adams County voters in 2020, when a ballot initiative passed statewide to legalize it. The state Supreme Court nullified that vote in 2021, when it ruled Mississippi’s initiative process is invalid.
The new law enacted by the Legislature does contain various regulations on the growing and sale of marijuana and empowers local governments to impose their own restrictions on where marijuana businesses can be located. Gibson said he and aldermen will consider what zoning regulations they can enact for such businesses.
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The Board of Aldermen approved an animal-control ordinance that rewrites city regulations that include what to do about stray, vicious animals, what constitutes animal cruelty and how many pets residents can have. It also requires pet owners to spay and neuter their dogs and cats. The new local law does impose penalties on violators.
The Natchez-Adams County Humane Society has been urging the board in recent years to enact the measures.
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The mayor and aldermen said public criticism levied against Natchez Police Chief Joseph Daughtry and his officers are unjustified.
Alderman Valencia Hall decried the “false rumors” that Daughtry is being fired. “It’s lie. He’s not going anywhere,” she said. NPD officers have taken oaths to protect and serve the community and combat crime, “and that’s exactly what they’re doing, she said.
“We applaud them in every way. They are working their hearts out,” Mayor Dan Gibson said of the Natchez Police Department.
The city officials’ defense of the NPD comes as public concerns have escalated about the recent spate of crime in Natchez.
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Friday’s Natchez Mardi Gras parade will have 34 floats and at least three marching bands, Daughtry said. Parked cars will need to be clearing out of the downtown parade route at 3 p.m. for streets to be closed at 4 p.m. The parade starts at 6:30 p.m. on Broadway Street, going up Franklin to Rankin and then turning down on Main to Canal and then back to Broadway.
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