Cannabis in Gulfport & Biloxi Mississippi — Gulf Coast

Last verified: May 2026

The Mississippi Gulf Coast as Cannabis Geography

The Mississippi Gulf Coast — Biloxi, Gulfport, Pascagoula, Ocean Springs, Bay St. Louis, Long Beach, Waveland — is the state’s tourism epicenter. Casinos, beaches, marinas, and the major Keesler Air Force Base concentration drive a year-round visitor economy. Both Gulfport and Biloxi opted into the MMCP, making the coast a major dispensary destination — though with one important asymmetry described below.

The Tourism Asymmetry

Mississippi medical cards are tied to residency or non-resident reciprocity registrations — so casual tourism does not translate directly to dispensary access the way it would in a recreational state like Nevada. A Gulf Coast tourist must either:

• Be a Mississippi medical cardholder visiting from elsewhere in the state, or
• Hold an out-of-state medical card and complete a Mississippi non-resident reciprocity registration (15-day, $75, 12 MMCEUs/15-day cap) before arriving.

This is a meaningful difference from the casino-tourism logic of Nevada or California. See non-resident reciprocity page.

Keesler Air Force Base — The Federal Workplace Reality

Keesler AFB in Biloxi is the headquarters of 2nd Air Force and the 81st Training Wing, with approximately:

• 5,100 active-duty personnel
• 1,625 civil service employees
• 13,000 retirees
• 4,763 family members
• 2,700 contractors

Keesler trains 28,000+ students annually across 400+ courses. It generates roughly $1 billion annual economic impact. The base also hosts the 403rd Wing (Air Force Reserve "Hurricane Hunters") and Keesler Medical Center, the Air Force’s second-largest medical facility.

For the Gulf Coast cannabis-policy story, Keesler matters because UCMJ Article 112a applies regardless of state law. A Keesler service member with a valid Mississippi MMCP card who tests positive faces immediate non-judicial punishment, court-martial proceedings, and loss of security clearance. The same applies to civil service employees and the substantial contractor workforce. See federal installations page.

NCBC Gulfport — The Seabees

Naval Construction Battalion Center Gulfport ("Seabees") supports approximately 4,500 jobs and generates ~$600 million in annual economic impact. Like Keesler, NCBC operates under federal drug-testing requirements that override state medical-card status.

The Gulf Coast Dispensary Cluster

The Mississippi Gulf Coast has substantial dispensary coverage:

• Biloxi — multiple dispensaries; opted in.
• Gulfport — multiple dispensaries; opted in. Southern Sky Wellness location.
• Pascagoula — Rootdown Pascagoula and other operators.
• Ocean Springs — Rootdown Ocean Springs and other operators.
• Bay St. Louis — Rootdown Bay St. Louis and Southern Sky Wellness.
• Gautier — Rootdown Gautier.
• Long Beach — opted in (with limited coverage).
• Waveland — opted in (with limited coverage).

The Coastal Opt-Out Gaps

• D’Iberville — opted out. Sits between Biloxi and Ocean Springs on the western edge of the bay.
• Pass Christian — opted out. Between Long Beach and Bay St. Louis.

The result is a coastal corridor with substantial coverage but two notable gaps. Pass Christian residents must drive to Bay St. Louis or to Long Beach. D’Iberville residents must drive into Biloxi proper or to Gulfport.

Pascagoula — Ingalls Shipbuilding

Ingalls Shipbuilding (HII) in Pascagoula is Mississippi’s largest manufacturing employer with more than 11,000 shipbuilders. Ingalls builds Arleigh Burke destroyers, San Antonio and America-class amphibious assault ships, and Legend-class Coast Guard cutters. As a defense contractor, Ingalls applies federal drug-testing requirements that override state medical-card status.

Pascagoula’s dispensary scene serves a workforce that, by virtue of federal contracting, generally cannot lawfully use medical cannabis without endangering employment. Patients who can use the program tend to be retirees, family members, and adjacent-industry workers.

The Cross-Border Question — Mobile, AL

The Mississippi-Alabama state line near Pascagoula and the western Mobile Bay is the most heavily traveled crossing on the eastern Gulf Coast. Carrying Mississippi medical cannabis east into Alabama is a federal crime and an Alabama state crime. Alabama has its own (more restrictive) medical program that does not reciprocate with Mississippi. See cross-border warnings page.

Harrison County Prosecutorial Posture

Harrison County (Gulfport-Biloxi) is one of the more urban-leaning prosecutorial jurisdictions in Mississippi. First-offense small-amount cases more often see diversion treatment, particularly given the tourism economy and the political importance of not making routine visitors into felony defendants. The contrast with rural Pine Belt counties is significant.

The Hurricane / Resilience Layer

The Gulf Coast’s annual hurricane exposure has shaped operator decision-making in the cannabis space. Several Gulf Coast cultivators chose inland locations specifically to reduce hurricane risk to indoor cultivation facilities. Dispensary operators along the coast have invested in storm-shutter and resilience infrastructure.