“If Walgreens, where you can fill out a prescription to get an opioid drug and Walgreens advertises it, then why can’t Tru Source or the other cannabis cultivators and dispensaries in Mississippi?”
By Heather Harrison of the Mississippi Free Press
Clarence Cocroft, owner of Tru Source dispensary, claims that Mississippi’s ban on medical cannabis advertising is keeping customers away from his small business. He is filing a lawsuit against the federal government, claiming it violates his right to free speech.
state laws prohibit dispensary and cultivation owners from advertising cannabis products.
Cocroft said to the Mississippi Free Press in December that it was a difficult task to remain in the business when you cannot advertise. “And it’s legal. “If they let you get a license, they should also allow you promote your business.”
Cocroft is the owner of Tru Source – the first Black-owned medical marijuana dispensary in Mississippi. It’s located in Olive Branch, Mississippi, southeast industrial zone. Cocroft and his cannabis dispensary sued the Mississippi State Department of Health and Mississippi Alcohol Beverage Control Bureau on November 14.
A person who wants to open a medical marijuana shop in the state must first apply for a license. They will also need to register for sales tax permits and pay thousands in fees. To enter a dispensary, a person must possess a medical cannabis license and be older than 21.
“The argument was: ‘OK, you’re all paying a lot in taxes. We follow all the rules you set out. All we ask is to allow us to advertise. It will increase your state’s tax rate,'” Cocroft stated.
Tru Source advertises through its website, word-of-mouth and signs on the building. Cocroft, however, cannot use any other medium to advertise his dispensary and its website. Owner said that many customers wouldn’t have heard about the store had they not driven through the area.
He said, “It is not just me at my location who cannot advertise.” Cocroft stated that the problem affects all locations in Olive Branch, DeSoto County, and all 82 counties.
“A No-Win Situation For The Cannabis Industry”
Clarence Cocroft is represented in this lawsuit by the Institute for Justice, a national nonprofit libertarian law firm. Katrin Martquez, one of Cocroft’s lawyers, told me that IJ examines “commercial speech regulation” and advertising laws from the perspective of the First Amendment, and “different regulations for advertising really hinder people’s businesses.”
She told the Mississippi Free Press that these regulations are reasonable. “The State of Mississippi is free to keep this; it cannot say blatantly, ‘You are not allowed to advertise.’
Cocroft and his family bought billboards to advertise Tru Source in north Mississippi, but they had to rent the space to other businesses including a casino that could legally display their products to the general public.
Cocroft said that before the lawsuit, he saw 15 to 20 patients a day. Most of them were returning customers. But now, he sees about 20-30 people each day who come in for their medical cannabis products. Cocroft reported that before the lawsuit he saw 15 to 20 patients per day, most of whom were returning customers. Now, about 20 to 30 people visit Tru Source every day to get their medical cannabis products.
He said that the ban on medical cannabis advertising does not affect only dispensary owners. Dispensaries will buy less from growers if they can’t sell their products.
Cocroft stated that the cannabis industry in Mississippi is facing a “no-win” situation.
He said that the Mississippi medical marijuana industry cost dispensary, cultivation and testing companies millions in the name of aiding patients. All while their owners learned how to run a brand-new type of business in the state.
“You are now your own business owner in an industry that has criminalized many people.” Cocroft asked, “And now that it’s legal within the state, why don’t you?”
“No State or Federal Law justifies Censorship”
In 2014, Congress passed the Rohrabacher Farr amendment and the former president Barack Obama signed it. This amended prohibits the U.S. Department of Justice to spend federal funds on prosecutions of medical marijuana operations within states with medical cannabis programs. The federal government doesn’t enforce marijuana laws in each state, but instead lets the states decide how to access the plant.
Marquez stated that “no state or federal laws justifies censorship of this case.”
She said that IJ defends Clarence Cocroft because the case could set a precedent in other legal businesses that are strictly regulated by the government.
“We know that these businesses may be subject to more stringent regulation than, for example, a donut shop.” Marquez, who cited the alcohol industry as well as casinos and strip clubs, said that it didn’t make sense to treat medical cannabis worse than similar businesses.
Cocroft asked why the cannabis industry and dispensary could not advertise to the whole state. He also wondered why other industries, such as the drug companies, strip clubs, casinos, and alcohol, can advertise to the entire State.
He asked: “If Walgreens, where you can fill an opioid prescription and advertise is allowed to do so, then why not Tru Source or the other cannabis cultivators and dispensaries in Mississippi?”
A spokesperson for MSDH told the Mississippi Free Press that the department would not comment on a lawsuit in progress. The Mississippi Free Press contacted the Department of Revenue as well as the Alcoholic Beverage Control Bureau to get their comments, but they did not respond by the time of publication.
Heather Harrison is a journalist for the Mississippi Free Press where this article originally appeared. Read the article at https://mississippifreepress.org.
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