Nevada plans one or more cannabis dispensaries per county

By Phil Smith, stopthedrugwar.org

Nevada’s Republican governor, Brian Sandoval, signed a new state law on June 12, 2013 allowing for medical marijuana dispensaries. Senate Bill 374 establishes a state-regulated system of dispensaries and envisions up to 66 dispensaries across the state, with up to 40 in Las Vegas, 10 in Reno and at least one in each county.

“We applaud Gov. Sandoval and the legislature for their leadership and commend those law enforcement organizations that expressed support for this much-needed legislation,” said Karen O’Keefe, director of state policies for the Marijuana Policy Project, who testified in support of the bill.

“It will make Nevada a safer and healthier place not only for medical marijuana patients, but for the entire community. This new law will provide patients with the safe and reliable access to medical marijuana that they deserve,” O’Keefe said. “Regulating medical marijuana sales will also generate revenue and take a bite out of the state’s underground marijuana market.”

Sandoval had earlier expressed concern about the startup costs of the program that in the long run may provide the state millions of dollars in tax revenue. Introduced by Sens. Tick Segerblom (D-Las Vegas) and Mark Hutchison (R-Las Vegas), the bill creates rules and regulations for not only dispensaries, but also infused-product manufacturers and cultivation and testing facilities. It also imposes 2% excise taxes on both wholesale and retail sales, with 75% of those revenues going to the education fund and 25% going to cover the cost of regulating the medical marijuana industry.

The state’s voter-approved medical marijuana law, passed twice in 1998 and 2000, required the legislature to create a medical marijuana program that included appropriate methods to supply medical marijuana to patients. Now, the legislature has finally done so, and Nevada will join states that have state-regulated dispensaries. Two more jurisdictions, Washington, DC, and Vermont, should come on board this summer, and the rule-making process for dispensaries is underway in Connecticut and Massachusetts. — WestCoastLeaf.com News Service

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