Nevada rule extension allows rec cannabis sales to continue

The Nevada Tax Commission has extended the emergency regulations that allow recreational marijuana sales to continue another 120 days. The rules were scheduled to expire Nov. 1.

The emergency rules were originally enacted to enable an “early rollout” of the rec program – beginning July 1 – while the legislature finalized regulations for a full adult-use industry. The rules must still be approval by lawmakers, the Nevada Appeal reported.

Here’s what you need to know:

• The Legislative Counsel Bureau plans to provide the taxation department with permanent adult-use regulations in a couple of weeks, signaling the start of the legislative approval process.
• Legislation that voters passed in November 2016 to legalize recreational marijuana gave liquor distributors exclusive rights to cannabis distribution for the first year and a half of adult-use sales.
• Thirty-one distributors were licensed as of September.
• The Nevada tax director told the commission that wholesale recreational cannabis currently is valued at $2,145 a pound, or $134 an ounce. The figure is used to determine the wholesale and retail taxes imposed on adult-use cannabis.