Marijuana Cultivation Less Than a Mile From Elementary School 

DAPHNE Ala.
October 6, 2024

By: Rick McCann

In August, a Baldwin County business was one of two farms in South Alabama that were issued licenses to grow medical marijuana.

Sirmon Farms, better known for their sunflowers and sweet potatoes was one of those farms.
The license known as a “cultivation and processing” license, allows the farm to grow, harvest, and process raw marijuana and then sell their products to other licensed retail distributors.

At this time, in Alabama, marijuana possession, sale, or trafficking are all illegal except when the cannabis is medically prescribed to a patient by an authorized physician and purchased at an authorized dispensary.

These are the medical marijuana products currently approved:

Allowed Products:

• Tablets
• Capsules
• Tinctures
• Gels, oils, and creams for topical use
• Suppositories
• Transdermal patches
• Nebulizers
• Liquids or oils for use in an inhaler

Products That Are Not Allowed:

• Raw plant material
• Products that could be smoked or vaped
• Food products such as cookies or candies

One of the key differences in the Alabama law is that marijuana for smoking is not allowed and any possession of it would be illegal and an arrestable offense.
In most states where medical marijuana is legally licensed, processed cannabis to smoke is sold at licensed dispensaries.

Though the state is still in its infancy when it comes to the medical marijuana field, they are making great strides after setting up a special marijuana commission, writing the rules and regulations, determining what products could be sold and what cannabis products could not be sold.
The various licenses that are necessary to produce or sell the product have just begun being issued as well.

And while all of this sounds to be in order, several families in the Belforest are not so sure that everything has been thought through.
Judy lives near Sirmon Farms and for years has loved to bring her family to see the Sunflowers and called it her “bright spot”. The beautiful bright sunflowers popping up draw people who love to take pictures with their families, smile, and take a few moments out of their busy lives.
But now, she says that she feels different about the place. Now she feels confused.

Why, would a farm that has been around for generations suddenly put money before safety, and why would the State of Alabama and Baldwin County allow marijuana to be grown in an area that is rapidly growing, with houses sprouting up faster than the sweet potatoes that grow nearby and with an elementary school that is less than a mile from the farm?

I checked the distance between the Belforest Elementary School and the Sirmon Farms property, and it was well under 1 mile. What you might call, just a stone’s throw away from each other.
Although the farm has around 3000 acres spread out in the area, the address given for the cannabis business is the same address listed to be the main parcel of their farm.

I posed these questions via voice mail and emails to James Sirmon, CEO, and also to Joseph LeKach, Chief Operations Officer, but neither replied.
I have also posed these same questions via the same methods to the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission, but no one responded from this state agency either.

Of concern here are at least four community safety issues including:

* The potential for violent robberies

* Illegal prowling by would-be thieves

* The closeness of a school to the cannabis growing operations

* The response time by police in the event of an emergency. (Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office and Possibly” Daphne Police would respond

Do They Have Security?

State statutes regarding the medical cannabis industry vary from state to state significantly and currently, there are no federal standards since marijuana is still illegal under federal law in all US states.

However, the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission, the oversight regulatory body, has prescribed certain security measures to be in place for cultivators, distributors, and retailers.

Some of these security measures do include alarm systems including surveillance cameras inside and outside of the facility and other security devices such as motion sensors be installed in all facilities where cannabis or medical cannabis is maintained or stored. Such cameras and other security system devices must be installed by a professional security company that is licensed by the State of Alabama.
Licensee facilities shall maintain an audio/video surveillance system that shall be in continuous operation 24 hours per day.

The facility’s perimeter and any outdoor premises must be surrounded by a sufficient fence or barrier to prevent access by unauthorized persons and must have sufficient lighting to always allow for the proper functioning of video surveillance equipment between dusk and dawn or at any other time when ambient lighting requires enhancement to permit identification of individuals or activities upon or immediately adjacent to the premises.

The rules also require that high-level locking mechanisms be installed on all exit and internal doors where cannabis is grown, processed, or stored.

There was no mention of the necessity of having armed guards or police officers employed either inside or externally of the facility.

As of this writing, there are no signs of fencing or barriers to any part of the property but in fairness, the state cultivation license was only issued a few months ago and the licensee may still be in the process of meeting all state requirements.

However, grow areas can be in secured buildings or in an outdoor garden.
A picture on the Sirmon Pure website ( https://www.purebysirmonfarms.com/) depicts an indoor growing area, which may or may not be the actual growing area of this business.

How Could Just One Cannabis Farm Pose a Harm?

One of anything sounds like it would not impose a problem for a community. One convenience store, one fast food restaurant, or just one liquor store.
But stop and think for a moment about how a business of any type changes the topography of the community. That one thing might bring more traffic, more noise, a different clientele that may disrupt the neighborhood, crime, or increased foot traffic that may be harmful to the area, just to name a few.
And often, that one thing can attract similar businesses to the area.

Ever notice that when a gas station builds a new store on a popular street or in a rapidly growing area soon another one pops up directly across the street from the first one?
And more times than not, it also happens with retail stores and drive-thru restaurants.
Competitors often watch the traffic and the success of the new business and soon, that one thing turns into two new things, or three new things, and so on.
All that one has to do is to look at Highway 98 or State Highway 181 on the Eastern Shore to see how quickly businesses are moving in and of course, Highway 59 itself, is again, experiencing another building boom right now.

So, one cannabis farm may not seem like such a big deal right now, but its approval has opened the door for others to move into the same area or the same county.

Nationwide, cannabis, legal or otherwise, has long been a driving factor in many crime statistics.
Licensed and unlicensed grow farms and dispensaries are often victims of robberies, thefts, and murders.

In 1996, California became the first state to legalize medical cannabis with the enactment of the Compassionate Use Act. Its premise at the time, was to use cannabis for those terminally ill or who were suffering from other long-term illnesses where prescription drugs had not helped or had not relieved the pain or the nausea symptoms.
And, in 1996, the first cannabis security guard was murdered during a robbery, and every year since, there are dozens of cannabis farm operations and dispensary stores where violent robberies, shootings, and murders occur.

In East Los Angeles on Monday this past week, a security guard was shot and killed during a robbery attempt at a 24-hour marijuana dispensary. Police said that the store was only licensed to be open until 11 p.m. but advertisements announced that they were a 24-hour location.

Private Officer International, a law enforcement and private security association that tracks security officer injuries and deaths nationwide stated that since 1996, 73 security officers have been murdered while guarding cannabis facilities and that more than three hundred and seventy have been assaulted, shot, or violently attacked.

California’s Department of Cannabis Control, which polices the legal sale of marijuana in the state said that they also constantly combat black market cannabis farms and stores, which are unlicensed grow farms and illegal sales.
An agent for the CDCC said recently that these unlawful operations are  popping up in abandoned homes and buildings, apartments, and forested areas.
They move into areas and set up their shop to compete with those who are legally licensed to grow and sell cannabis.
In general, marijuana has led to an increase in crime since it was first legalized.
Both legally grown and the thousands of illegal operations across the country are often targets of very violent crimes that often go unreported by the victims.

It’s a well-known fact that crime in Baldwin County has increased over the past ten years.
Some long-time residents have blamed the people moving into the area while others have blamed the lack of law enforcement which allows the criminals to go unchecked.

It’s inevitable that with the steady growth, the increased popularity of the beaches, and the major Interstates that run through the county which brings thousands of people through the area day after day, crime will continue to increase, and that’s a fact.

Regulatory Laws Compared

Of the six states that we compared regulatory laws, only three states mention the allowable distance between schools, churches, or high-density areas such as subdivisions, apartment complexes, and other residential communities, malls, or other similar locations.
In Florida, Statute FS 381.986, states that a medical marijuana treatment center dispensing facility may not be located within 500 feet of the real property that comprises a public or private elementary school, middle school, or secondary school unless the county or municipality approves the location proceeding open to the public at which the county or municipality determines that the location promotes the public health, safety, and general welfare of the community.
Currently, there are no statutory provisions that allow a reduction of the 500-foot separation requirement for a Cultivating Facility and Processing Facility.
It is illegal to grow marijuana within 1,000 feet of a school in Oregon and in Colorado, unlike retail marijuana stores, there are no distance restrictions about marijuana grow sites being located near schools and homes. Medical and recreational marijuana storefronts must be located 1,000 feet from schools, however.

While reviewing the various cannabis laws in different states, and checking them against state alcohol licensing, both, had similar distance requirements, written application, and criminal history requirements, and the processes were comparatively similar.

Currently, only four states completely disallow any form of marijuana including Idaho, Wyoming, Kansas, and South Carolina.

Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Colombia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington have fully legalized the use of cannabis for medicinal and personal use.
The remaining states allow the use of certain cannabis products for medicinal use only.

It should be noted that even in the states where the use of marijuana for personal use is lawful,
the sale, distribution, or possession of certain quantities of cannabis remains illegal and in certain situations would be felonies.
When purchasing the product in the aforementioned states, purchases must only be done at a licensed dispensary and be kept in its original packaging at all times.
Violations of this could also result in an arrest.

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