Pearl Board Denies Cannabis Dispensary Permit
At an Aug. 19, 2026 public hearing, a city building official told the board he could not support the application, citing the number of dispensaries already operating in Pearl. "I would not recommend approving the conditional use for the oversaturation of the dispensaries," he said.
The application, for a site at 5311 Highway 80, was brought by Austin Mitton of Country Boy Dispensary. Mitton told the board the location met all state-required distances from schools, churches and other dispensaries. After hearing the staff recommendation, the board voted to deny the permit.
The denial came even though the applicant maintained the proposal satisfied every state zoning and distance requirement. City officials instead based their recommendation on the number of similar businesses already in Pearl, a discretionary judgment rather than an objective standard.
Such conditional use decisions illustrate how local licensing boards can limit new business entry beyond what state law itself requires.