Mallory Donald presided over the meeting. Lucy Sanguinetti provided the opening prayer. Mavis Creagh led us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Mallory then led the club in the Four Way Test. The meeting was held at the Mugshots Bar and Grill in Hattiesburg.
Ryan Kelly then read a letter from Mark Killingsworth to club members. Mark is taking a break from Rotary while he recovers from personal health issues.
Mavis Creagh was the 50/50 winner today, but she failed to draw the correct card.
Stew Deen then introduced our guests today. A.D. Hunt has Pete Stokes as his guest. Mike Ratliff has his wife Consuelo as his guest.
Mike Ratliff then introduced today’s guest speaker, former governor Ronnie Musgrove. Governor Musgrove is from Batesville, Mississippi. He served as a state senator, Lt. Governor, and Governor. He is currently coordinating the medical marijuana program for the state.
Mississippi became the 35th state in the nation to approve the use of medical marijuana. In a recent statewide initiative, 74% of those voting approved the use of medical marijuana, however, the State Supreme Court overturned the vote because of the procedures used in collecting the signatures on the petition calling for the initiative. The matter then had to come before the state legislature. In 2020 the legislature passed legislation legalizing medical marijuana to treat pain for any one of 20 medical conditions. The program is operated by the State Department of Health.
Anyone with one of more of the identified medical conditions can apply to the Department and, if approved, they will be issued a license to purchase a limited amount of marijuana each month from a licensed dispensary. Those dispensaries cannot be located within 1,500 feet from a church, a school, or another dispensary. The legislation provides for a 5% tax on the dispensary for each sale and a 7% sales tax. Governor Musgrove predicts that the medical marijuana taxes will generate between $80 to $100 million dollars to the state each year for the general fund.
There being no further business to come before the club, Mallory thanked Governor Musgrove for his comments and then adjourned the meeting with our motto: “Service Above Self.”