Nevada’s Medical Marijuana Business at a Glance

WHAT IS COMING: Under the law passed by the Nevada Legislature and signed by Gov. Brian Sandoval in 2013, the medical marijuana industry will include up to 66 dispensaries statewide to sell the marijuana and marijuana products. The infrastructure will include indoor grow houses to grow the drug, testing labs to test its potency and kitchens to process the marijuana into various forms such as oils, butter, cookie dough, soda pop, chocolate bars and peanut butter cups.

WASHOE COUNTY DISPENSARIES: Under state law, 10 dispensaries will be allowed in Washoe County, including Reno and Sparks. Clark County is allowed 40 dispensary licenses under the law.

WHEN: State officials don’t expect the dispensaries to be open for business until sometime in the spring of 2015. The key to the delay is that Nevada law stipulates that any medical marijuana sold in Nevada must be grown here. Growing marijuana is usually about a six-month process.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE: Eligibility is determined by a licensed doctor in Nevada after studying the patient’s medical records. Applicants must be at least 10 years old. The Nevada law stipulates medical marijuana can be used by patients who suffer from AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, post-traumatic stress disorder and any medical condition or treatment for a medical condition that produces significant weight loss, persistent muscle spasms, seizures, severe nausea or pain. Other conditions are subject to approval by the health division of the state Department of Human Resources. About 5,600 Nevadans currently have medical marijuana cards. That number is expected to increase dramatically once the dispensaries are in business.

OTHER STATES: Medical marijuana is legal in 21 states and the District of Columbia. Yet it is still outlawed by the federal government, which considers it a Schedule One drug, along with heroin, LSD, many narcotics and ecstasy. In August 2013, the federal Justice Department said it would not interfere with individual states’ medical marijuana laws as long as they were tightly controlled, were not associated with outlaw drug organizations and did not make the product available to minors without a medical marijuana card.

HOW MUCH IS ALLOWED: Nevada cardholders can possess one ounce of marijuana, three mature plants or four immature plants. Yet once the dispensaries are running, Nevadans with medical marijuana cards will no longer be able to grow their own marijuana, unless the strain they are growing for medical purposes is not found in the dispensaries.

CULTIVATION FACILITIES: Greenhouses for growing medical marijuana are outlawed. All indoor growing facilities must have systems to eliminate the pungent smell of marijuana and must be fully enclosed and guarded. Nevada law states that only enough marijuana to fit the needs of the Nevada system can be cultivated. Some are concerned that law will lead to shortages since Nevada also allows medical marijuana cardholders from other states to purchase the product in Nevada.

TAXES: The state will impose a 2 percent sales tax on all medical marijuana purchases. The school district in the county where the marijuana is purchased will receive 75 percent of that sales tax. The other 25 percent goes to the state. Local governments can charge fees for business licenses, too. Those can cost between $10,000 to $100,000, according to testimony at local government meetings.

Originally posted on RGJ