Medical cannabis dispensaries are coming to Nevada very soon. Nevada patients have been waiting a long time for legal, safe access. The stakes in Nevada are very high due to the fact that Nevada dispensaries will be allowed to sell to out of state patients.
There is a battle brewing in Nevada between the state officials and Clark County officials. Per Marijuana Business Daily:
A Nevada judge has ruled that the process state officials used to select businesses to dispense marijuana in unincorporated Clark County was fair, paving the way for dispensaries to open as early as next month.
Five prospective dispensary owners filed a lawsuit after receiving approval to operate by the county but not the state, asking for an injunction that would delay the opening of MMJ centers in unincorporated areas of Clark County. But District Court Judge Kathleen Delaney said that the state followed all regulations when selecting 18 applicants that received preliminary permits, according to KLAS TV in Las Vegas.
The county, however, is firing back. On Monday, the Clark County Commission denied 58 applications for dispensary licenses, including a handful the state had already approved.
I have seen many would be dispensary owners cry foul when they don’t get approved for a license. However, I have never seen a showdown between a county and state due to licensing dispensaries. I’m curious to see how far Clark County will go to defend the dispensaries that they approved, and disrupt efforts by dispensaries that they denied. Hopefully for the sake of patients, this issue gets resolved sooner than later.
Anthony Johnson
Anthony, a longtime cannabis law reform advocate, was Chief Petitioner and co-author of Measure 91, Oregon's cannabis legalization effort. He served as director of both the New Approach Oregon and Vote Yes on 91 PACs, the political action committees responsible for the state's legalization campaign. As director of New Approach Oregon, Anthony continues to work towards effectively implementing the cannabis legalization system while protecting small business owners and the rights of patients. He sits on the Oregon Marijuana Rules Advisory Committee and fights for sensible rules at the legislature as well as city councils and county commissions across the state. Anthony helps cannabis business comply with Oregon's laws and advises advocates across the country. He also serves as content director of both the International Cannabis Business Conference and the Oregon Marijuana Business Conference, helping share the vision of moving the cannabis industry forward in a way that maintains the focus on keeping people out of prison and protecting patients. He was a member of the Oregon Health Authority Rules Advisory Committee, assisting the drafting of the administrative rules governing Oregon’s state-licensed medical marijuana facilities. He first co-authored and helped pass successful marijuana law reform measures while a law student at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law. He passed the Oregon Bar in 2005 and practiced criminal defense for two years before transitioning to working full-time in the political advocacy realm. His blogs on Marijuana Politics are personal in nature and don't speak for or reflect the opinions of any group or organization.
