The Carroll County Board of Supervisors have opted-out of both the distribution and the cultivation of medical marijuana.
The county follows suit with the towns of Carrollton and Vaiden who both chose to opt-out of both the sale of, distribution and cultivation of medical marijuana. Carrollton decided they did not want any part of medical marijuana at all, and Vaiden made the decision at their March meeting. Board members stated they wanted to opt-out because the bill had a lot of gray areas and they wanted to see how things would be regulated. Vaiden’s board decided that if they wanted to opt back in, they could still do so.
However, the town of North Carrollton has decided to opt-in to having dispensaries in the town and to opt-out of the cultivation in a 3-2 vote earlier this month.
During their Monday board meeting in Vaiden, the Supervisors decided in a 3-2 vote with Supervisors Jim Neill, Dill Tucker and Josh Hurst voting for and Supervisors Claude Fluker and Rickie Corley voting against. Before taking a vote, the board heard from Rev. Tim Bass with the Carroll County Baptist Association and Rev. JC Stokes, pastor of St. John Missionary Baptist Church in Duck Hill.
Bass said that he, along with several other preachers that were in the audience, wanted to come to the board to speak about opting out of medical marijuana. He said that Carroll County opting into medical marijuana was like essentially making a deal with the devil.
“We want the best for Carroll County,” he said. “We don’t need to open Pandora’s box.” Bass said that it would only lead to more destruction, and they didn’t want that kind of activity in their backyard.
“I know there is a medical aspect and for the communities a financial aspect. But we have to operate not out of fear but out of faith. We have to have faith that God is going to provide the revenue,” he said.
Bass said he hasn’t been in the county long, but he has a son that is growing up in Carroll County, and he doesn’t want to open a door that will lead to total destruction. As a biblical reference, he used the story of Adam and Eve and how Satan’s interference cause chaos and destruction in the Garden of Eden.
Stokes said that he knows that medical marijuana can be helpful, but he didn’t think it was necessary for Carroll County.
Both Bass and Stokes told the board they have to do what is right in the eyesight of the Lord.
Stokes said it’s easy to sin and not to live right. He said it’s also easy to follow the bible to do what is right. And what is right is to look out for the people of Carroll County.
“If we say we love the people that we are around and the people that are out and about, then we must look out for them. The Bible is easy, you have to read God’s commands and follow them. That’s what we should be doing,” he said.
