Nevada State Senator Tick Segerblom (D-Las Vegas)
LAS VEGAS, NV — Voters in Nevada legalized marijuana on election day by passing Question 2, allowing adults 21 and older to possess limited amounts of marijuana starting January 1, 2017.
But under the measure, a state regulated recreational cannabis market wouldn’t open until 2018, giving state officials time to craft the rules and regulations to oversee the newly created industry. So unless you’re a registered medical marijuana patient, there won’t be any place to legally purchase marijuana, forcing cannabis consumers to turn to the black market.
Nevada isn’t alone in this dilemma. When voters in Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize marijuana in 2012, a similar timeline was established. Adult use and possession became legal in both states in December 2012, but retail sales didn’t start for over a year. Legal retail sales of marijuana in Colorado began January 1, 2014, and Washington’s recreational marijuana market opened in July 2014.
Only one state so far — Oregon — has allowed recreational marijuana sales to begin earlier than the timeline set by voters. That’s because lawmakers in Oregon took a proactive approach in implementing the will of the voters, passing legislation that allowed the state’s medical marijuana dispensaries to start selling limited amounts of marijuana to anyone 21 years or older while the state worked to licence recreational pot shops.
Now, one prominent state lawmaker wants Nevada to follow Oregon’s example, and is drafting legislation to allow Nevada’s medical marijuana dispensaries to sell marijuana to adults.
State Senator Tick Segerblom (D – Las Vegas), who was instrumental in passing the 2013 bill that authorized dispensaries in Nevada, is in the process of drafting a bill that would temporarily allow recreational sales at medical dispensaries, with sales to non-medical marijuana card holders subject to a 15 to 20 percent sales tax.
“They allowed the existing medical dispensaries to sell recreational marijuana and as far as we could tell, there’s no reason we couldn’t do that in Nevada,” Segerblom told CBS affiliate KLAS-TV.
Segerblom says allowing recreational sales as soon as possible does two things: eliminates the need for cannabis consumers to buy on the black market, and adds tax dollars to the state coffers.
Segerblom points to Oregon, where recreational marijuana are projected to generate $43 million in tax revenue in 2016.
“I think, given our tourist economy, we could double that, so we’re looking at close to $100 million in just taxes,” Segerblom said.
Under Segerblom’s proposal, the temporary sales would be allowed at dispensaries until the Nevada Department of Taxation begins issuing recreational marijuana licences. Under the ballot measure, only existing medical marijuana dispensaries can apply for recreational licences until mid-2018, when new businesses will be allowed to apply for licences.
Segerblom will introduce his proposal when the 79th session of the Nevada legislature begins in February.
Tags: Election 2016, Las Vegas, marijuana legalization, Nevada, Nevada marijuana legalization, Nevada Question 2, Tick Segerblom