Two Nevada lawmakers are hoping to make it easier for qualified patients in the state to obtain medical marijuana, possibly via highly regulated dispensaries.
This week, Assemblyman Steven Brooks said he is teaming up with Assemblyman Tick Segerblom to determine an ideal medical cannabis distribution system in Nevada by analyzing the MMJ infrastructure in other states. Segerblom previously called for a bill that would revise the state’s medical marijuana laws in favor of patients, and Brooks has echoed that request.
The use and possession of medical marijuana is legal in Nevada for people who have received a doctor’s recommendation. However, the law does not allow the existence of dispensaries to distribute marijuana. Instead, patients must grow their own. That’s not ideal – or even possible – for many of the 3,000-plus registered patients in Nevada, making it hard for them to get the medicine they need.
The lawmakers, both Democrats, hope to get a bill up for consideration next year.
This is good news for the medical marijuana industry, which has been boxed out of Nevada even though the state allows MMJ.
Brooks and Segerblom will likely champion a conservative strategy that would strictly limit the number of dispensaries that could operate and put tight controls on those businesses. And, with just a few thousand registered patients, there would probably only be a handful of dispensaries in the state anyway.
But, at the very least, opening up distribution would create a new market for MMJ businesses and help the industry as a whole.
While 17 states plus the District of Columbia have medical marijuana laws in place, a handful – including Alaska, Delaware and Hawaii – currently do not allow dispensaries.
