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NATCHEZ — A Lafayette, Louisiana-based hemp farming company is preparing to open a new dispensary in Adams County.

Black Farmers Hemp of Mississippi received a provisional license from the Mississippi State Department of Health for a new cannabis dispensary Angel Leaf Medical Cannabis Dispensary to be located at 9 Roux 61 Drive Unit A in Natchez.

This makes the third state-licensed medical cannabis dispensary seeking to open in Adams County with two others working to open within the City of Natchez’s medical district, including Highest Care LLC owned by Tabitha Wroten and Toke and Tell Dispensary LLC owned by Tina Bruce.

Black Farmer’s Hemp of Mississippi was established about a year ago with the goal of creating a dispensary chain throughout the state, said John Ford, general manager.

Ford said his business partner Royal Hill is a native of Natchez, so they wanted their first dispensary to be near his hometown.

Black Farmers Hemp has prior experience with two licensed indoor cultivation facilities in Louisiana.

“We’re a group of black farmers who decided we were going to enter into the medical marijuana space,” Ford said. “We are also licensed and grow industrial hemp in the state of Louisiana and now we’re licensed to dispense medical cannabis in Mississippi. We’ve been farming hemp since 2020 and we have two facilities totaling 25,000 Square feet. We also train farmers in the process.”

Ford said the new 1,300-square-foot dispensary would be unique in that it would utilize the hemp plant in construction, particularly the un-discarded stalk of the plant.
“It will have hemp flooring, cabinets and even picture frames showing the versatility of this product,” Ford said. “It is mold resistant and reduces our carbon footprint. We don’t look at hemp with the stigma that society has put on it. We look at it for all of its good qualities. … We aim to open by the first of the year and are under construction at present.”

At that time, they will be looking to locally hire a team of at least five people for their day-to-day operations, he added.

“We know that it’s going to take time to develop the patient population,” Ford said. “It’s not a get-rich-quick scheme. It takes time to lift these industries off the ground in every state and there are going to be some hurdles to cross along the way. But we’re prepared to jump those hurdles.”