Judge halts Nevada marijuana regulators’ distribution plan

Don’t miss our MJBiz LinkedIn Live covering “Women Leaders in Cannabis: Shattering the Grass Ceiling” on Wednesday, March 27, at 2 p.m. ET. Visit LinkedIn to register!


Nevada marijuana regulators won’t be able to issue cannabis distribution licenses to businesses other than liquor wholesalers after all.

A judge has sided with the Independent Alcohol Distributors of Nevada, who by law have exclusive rights to deliver recreational marijuana to sellers for 18 months, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

The ruling came the day after the Nevada Department of Taxation said it planned to open up the market to meet the high demand marijuana businesses have encountered since legal recreational marijuana sales started July 1.

The judge said the alcohol distributors are owed their due process after winning the rights from the November election ballot question approved by voters.

Six liquor wholesalers are already licensed. But the tax department moved last week to expand the field of potential distributors because it didn’t see enough interest from the alcohol wholesalers, the newspaper reported.

A hearing is scheduled this week.

– Associated Press