Nevada Supreme Court halts cannabis distribution licensing

Nevada’s marijuana distribution court fight will last at least another few weeks.

On Friday, the Nevada state Supreme Court issued a temporary injunction prohibiting the Department of Taxation from issuing any more marijuana distribution licenses, in a move that could extend supply chain problems for cannabis retailers in the short term. Oral arguments in the case are scheduled for Oct. 3, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

The state Tax Commission had previously voted to begin licensing MJ distributors aside from only licensed alcohol wholesalers, because it found that alcohol distributors couldn’t keep up with the overwhelming demand of the new recreational cannabis market, which launched in July.

In mid-August, a district judge ruled that the state could do so, despite the 2016 rec ballot initiative stating that only alcohol wholesalers would be licensed to transport cannabis for the first 18 months of the new adult-use industry.

The state’s high court contravened that order, and granted a request by the Independent Alcohol Distributors of Nevada for an injunction against the issuance of new distributor licenses, according to the Review-Journal.

The distributors’ association first sued in May, to stop the tax department from giving distribution permits to MJ companies.