Law Nevada

[bulllee]

FBI investigating Nevada cannabis business licensing process, report says​

Published August 26, 2021



Federal agents have been scrutinizing the Nevada cannabis licensing process to determine if any corruption was involved in the awarding of business permits.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, FBI agents have been speaking with Nevada marijuana industry executives for at least a year.

The investigation is focused on potential “pay-to-play” situations that might have arisen since the state legalized recreational cannabis in 2016, the newspaper reported.
One former state lawmaker, Chad Christensen, who co-owns Pisos dispensary in Las Vegas, told the Review-Journal he spoke with FBI agents for roughly 45 minutes last December about his suspicions of corruption during the licensing process.
The newspaper cited two other anonymous industry sources who reported similar conversations with FBI agents, who asked “whether bribes or campaign contributions were used to influence the distribution of cannabis licenses.”
In addition, the Nevada attorney general’s office was notified in February 2020 of a joint investigation being run by the state Department of Public Safety and federal authorities.
The federal probe could be fueled by an ongoing legal battle over 64 marijuana business licenses that were awarded in 2018 to 17 businesses from a pool of 127 applicants, the Review-Journal reported.
In 2019, Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak appointed a task force to “root out corruption or criminal influences” in the state’s marijuana industry.

 

[bulllee]

Nevada marijuana firms ready consumption lounges to serve tourist throngs​

Published 8 hours ago | By Margaret Jackson

Nevada marijuana companies are mapping out plans to open consumption lounges next year under a new state law with the goal of serving the tens of millions of visitors who flock to Las Vegas annually.
Until now, tourists buying cannabis products in Sin City’s retail stores have had no place to smoke, eat or consume their purchases because it’s illegal to do so in public.
Moreover, consumption is not allowed in Las Vegas casinos or the city’s approximately 150,000 hotel rooms.
That has put a damper on sales to out-of-state visitors in this tourist-reliant city. In 2019, Las Vegas attracted more than 42 million visitors.

“When recreational cannabis was legalized here, it was legalized without a place for tourists to consume it,” said Layke Martin, executive director of the Nevada Dispensary Association.
“You weren’t legally allowed to consume it in public. Lounges create a space where cannabis products can be consumed legally.”
Hadhinah Felice, marketing director at Amargosa Valley-based cultivator MJ Holdings, predicts that “cannabis sales are going to skyrocket” thanks to consumption lounges. The company plans to open such a venue.
“Not only locals but visitors will crowd the lounges,” Felice predicted.
New law enacted
Nevada is one of nine states that permit on-site consumption of recreational marijuana, according to the Washington DC-based Marijuana Policy Project, although the pandemic has complicated plans for some business owners aiming to offer such venues.
A bill allowing for marijuana consumption lounges was among a flurry of last-minute measures approved by Nevada lawmakers in June, before they adjourned for the year. Gov. Steve Sisolak signed the measure into law.
The state’s Cannabis Compliance Board (CCB) must finalize the rules governing the lounges.
Under the new law, regulators can offer two new types of marijuana business licenses related to consumption lounges:

• One for retailers that want to open consumption lounges on the same property as their retail shops.
• One for stand-alone lounges that will be limited to single-use products, in the same manner as bars that sell alcohol.

Alcohol sales will be barred in either type of establishment.
Nevada has 86 cannabis retailers held by about 45 different ownership groups, Martin said. Each ownership group will be permitted to have one consumption lounge license if they have space that qualifies for one.
Nearly 60 retailers have indicated they’re interested in opening consumption lounges.
The CCB will provide store owners who held licenses as of July 1 written notification that they might be eligible for a permit for a retail cannabis consumption lounge.
Different licenses will be issued for lounges attached to marijuana retail outlets and stand-alone lounges that offer single-use products that can be consumed on the premises.
While the CCB has not yet finalized the rules for consumption lounges, state law has established certain parameters:

• Only the owner of a licensed adult-use store is eligible for a retail cannabis consumption lounge license – one person cannot hold both retail and independent cannabis consumption lounge licenses.
• At least half the licenses – 10 of the first 20 – issued to independent cannabis consumption lounges must be awarded to social equity applicants. A social equity applicant is someone who has been adversely affected by laws that criminalized cannabis-related activity.
• The one-time, nonrefundable application fee for a retail cannabis consumption lounge is $100,000 while the fee for an independent lounge is $10,000.

The CBC expects to issue the first round of licenses by early to mid-2022.
Years in the making
The Nevada marijuana industry has been seeking cannabis consumption lounges for years, given the state’s heavy reliance on tourism.
In Las Vegas, Planet 13 Holdings had already designated space for a consumption lounge at its superstore but then had to pivot.
The customer lines to buy product there were so long that Planet 13 opted to use the space designated for its consumption lounge to double the size of the sales floor to cut the wait time from 1½ hours to about 45 minutes.
Now the company is looking at a 4½-acre site with a 55,000-square-foot building adjacent to the store to build a consumption lounge, said Larry Scheffler, Planet 13’s co-CEO.
“That will give us 19 acres and a 176,000-square-foot marijuana superstore complex,” he said.
Planet 13 will use about 20,000 square feet of the building, which is owned by the superstore’s current landlord, for its consumption lounge and club, which will include a 4-inch-deep indoor splash pool that opens onto a 5,000-square-foot outdoor balcony. A skywalk will connect the consumption lounge to the dispensary.
“We’re very bullish on it,” Scheffler said. “This is what Vegas is about – entertainment. We’ve been very successful so far, and as long as we continue to create a destination, we’ll continue to be successful.”
Marijuana products sold at the Planet 13 consumption lounge will be more expensive than those sold at the superstore, and guests will not be able to bring in cannabis from other retailers, Scheffler said.
“If you’re at a club at the Wynn, you can’t bring in a bottle,” Scheffler said. “If you buy a bottle of wine for $50 at a store, it might cost $200 in the club.”
Like Planet 13, the Oasis Cannabis Dispensary in Las Vegas is looking at taking over a suite that’s adjacent to its retail shop to build out a consumption lounge, said Lissa Lawatsch, the store’s general manager.
She anticipates customers will purchase cannabis in the store and then take it into the adjacent consumption lounge.
“It depends on how the regulations are written,” she said. “We’re attached by a wall that connects the dispensary to the consumption lounge. If they allow us to connect the two, we do more with purchasing and delivering it to the table.
“But it sounds like it’s going to have to be two separate entities.”
Independent lounge planned
Roger Bloss, CEO of MJ Holdings, plans to apply for an independent consumption lounge license because the company does not currently operate any retail stores.
MJ Holdings would package and sell its own products in the consumption lounge. The company also is looking at acquiring a retail store.
“To complete our vertical, we need a retail opportunity and a consumption lounge,” Bloss said. “I’m a big proponent of consumption lounges and finding a way for Nevada’s worldwide global tourist trade to consume cannabis.
“I just don’t like that we put people in uncomfortable positions.”
Bloss noted that, back in the day, Las Vegas didn’t have nightclubs on the Strip, but tourists wanted them, so hotels and casinos built them.
“Once the hotels and casinos realized people were taking their money to other destinations, they started putting nightclubs in the hotels,” Bloss said.
“Vegas will create the ultimate destination for these lounges.”

 

[momofthegoons]

Nevada Police Are Exploiting Marijuana Scheduling ‘Loophole’ To Make Arrests Despite Legalization, ACLU-Backed Lawsuit Claims​

A new lawsuit being backed by the Nevada chapter of the ACLU claims that the state’s drug code unconstitutionally continues to list marijuana as a Schedule I drug, enabling police to continue to arrest people over cannabis despite the fact that it’s been legalized for medical and adult use.

The suit targets the state Board of Pharmacy, which has scheduling authority over controlled substances. Plaintiffs say that because the board has failed to remove marijuana from Schedule I, people continue to run the risk of being prosecuted for felony crimes such as possession of cannabis with intent to distribute.

Police have allegedly exploited that legal “loophole” even though the state Constitution recognizes the medical value of marijuana and voters approved adult-use legalization at the ballot in 2016.



“This is what the police departments are doing. They’re actually charging people with possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell even if it is marijuana,” Sadmira Ramic, an attorney with ACLU of Nevada, told Marijuana Moment in a phone interview on Monday.

Ramic said she feels that police are “aware” that cannabis has been legalized for medical and recreational use, but they’re still “finding ways to charge people with with marijuana,” disproportionately in minority and low-income communities. She said they’re using “loopholes” related to the board’s current scheduling status to perpetuate “the same issue that we had when there was a war on marijuana going on” in the state pre-legalization.

The Cannabis Equity and Inclusion Community (CEIC), which works to help people get prior marijuana convictions cleared and empower disadvantaged communities to participate in the state-legal market, is listed as a plaintiff alongside Antoine Poole, an individual who was found guilty of a Class E felony for cannabis possession in 2017.

Ramic, who is representing the plaintiffs in this case, said that the Board of Pharmacy is similarly “aware” of the marijuana policy changes that have been enacted in the state but have maintained its Schedule I status despite being required to evaluate scheduling decisions annually. She said that she’s not sure at this stage how the board will respond to the suit, but she wouldn’t be surprised if there was “pushback” from the regulatory body.

Marijuana Moment reached out to the board for comment, but a representative was not immediately available.

CEIC Founder A’Esha Goins said in a press release that the group is “consistently fighting for policy changes that will ensure freedom for Black and Latinx people that choose cannabis as a treatment,” and it’s “disheartening that we are four years after legalization and we’re still dealing with policies that can derail people’s lives over cannabis possession.”

The lawsuit—which was filed in the state’s Eight Judicial District Court in Clark County, Nevada on Friday—states that “CEIC and Mr. Poole are entitled to relief regarding the misclassification of marijuana, cannabis, and cannabis derivatives as Schedule I substances.”

Failure to properly classify marijuana “will cause irreparable injury to Petitioners because CEIC must continue to expend its resources on preventing and/or remedying such efforts, and Mr. Poole continues to suffer the consequences of a cannabis-related convictions,” it says.

The petitioners are seeking injunctive relief and asking the court to prohibit the board from keeping cannabis in Schedule I.

Meanwhile, Nevada’s marijuana market is thriving, with the state reporting late last year that retailers had sold more than $1 billion in medical and recreational marijuana over a one-year period.

Ten percent of tax revenue from recreational cannabis sales will support pubic education funding, as prescribed under a bill that Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) previously signed.

There’s little question about where the administration stands on cannabis policy, regardless of the reported recalcitrance of the state Board of Pharmacy.

The governor has committed to promoting equity and justice in the state’s marijuana law. In 2020, for example, he pardoned more than 15,000 people who were convicted for low-level cannabis possession. That action was made possible under a resolution the governor introduced that was unanimously approved by the state’s Board of Pardons Commissioners.

The governor also signed a bill last year to legalize marijuana consumption lounges in the state.

Meanwhile, in August 2021, a former Las Vegas police officer who sued after facing termination for testing positive for marijuana scored a significant procedural victory, with a district judge denying the department’s request for summary judgement and agreeing that state statute protects employees’ lawful use of cannabis outside of work.

Read the lawsuit against the Nevada Board of Pharmacy

 

[Bcbud]

Las Vegas City Council Approves Cannabis Consumption Lounges | High Times

Council voted 5-1 in favor of the proposal.

hightimes.com

 

[Baron23]

Nevada Governor signs Marijuana reforms bill into law ​

Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo last week approved a bill that makes several reforms to the state’s marijuana laws, including more than doubling the limit on adult-use cannabis possession and purchases.​

The omnibus measure, Senate Bill 277, was signed by the Republican governor on May 14, according to a report from online cannabis new source Marijuana Moment, after receiving approval from the state legislature earlier this month.


The new law makes several significant changes to Nevada’s laws governing marijuana. In 2001, the state legalized medical marijuana, followed by the legalization of adult-use cannabis with the passage of Question 2, a 2016 ballot measure that legalized recreational marijuana in Nevada for adults 21 and older.


The legislation more than doubles the possession and purchase limits for recreational marijuana in Nevada, raising the cap from one ounce of cannabis to 2.5 ounces. The measure also doubles the limits for cannabis concentrates from one-eighth of an ounce to a quarter ounce.


The legislation also permits all adult-use cannabis dispensaries in Nevada to sell cannabis products to medical marijuana patients. Beginning next year, state cannabis regulators will no longer be able to issue new licenses for medical marijuana businesses, except in areas of the state that have prohibited the operation of recreational cannabis dispensaries.

New Law Eases Cannabis Industry Employment Restrictions​

Senate Bill 277 also eases a ban on individuals with felony convictions from operating or working at cannabis businesses in Nevada. Under the approved legislation, the Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board has been given the authority to issue licenses to businesses with stakeholders that have prior felony convictions if the agency “determines that doing so would not pose a threat to the public health or safety or negatively impact the cannabis industry in this State,” according to the text of the legislation cited by Marijuana Moment. To comply with t change, the board will be required to “impose any conditions and limitations on the granting of an exemption that the Board determines necessary to preserve the public health and safety or mitigate the impact of granting the exemption on the cannabis industry in this State.”


The legislation also amends a ban on those with certain prior felony convictions from being employed in Nevada’s regulated cannabis industry. Under the bill, individuals with such convictions will be permitted to petition the state to work at a licensed cannabis business without first having their records expunged. Meg Nash, a partner at the cannabis and psychedelics law firm Vicente LLP, says that provisions of Senate Bill 277 that make it easier for individuals with criminal records to work in the cannabis industry reflect a key tenet of current marijuana legalization proposals.


“Legislative efforts to increase participation in the regulated industry by people with prior convictions not only benefits these individuals, but also furthers overarching cannabis legalization policy objectives to combat the failed war on drugs,” Nash writes in an email. “Increasingly, ‘new’ states are incorporating reparative justice elements into their initial adult use legalization efforts, such as New York and Maryland. It is encouraging to see states that were at the forefront of legalization, such as Nevada, revisiting their laws and regulations to create a more inclusive industry.”


Nevada’s new cannabis reform law also tasks the state Cannabis Advisory Commission with conducting a study to determine the potential effects that ending the federal prohibition of cannabis and removing marijuana from the state’s Uniform Controlled Substances Act would have on the regulated cannabis industry. The legislation also requires state regulators to consider if a proposed change to Nevada’s cannabis regulations “is likely to have an adverse effect on the environment and, if so, whether there are any methods to reduce or eliminate that adverse effect which would not impose an economic burden on holders of an adult-use cannabis establishment license or medical cannabis establishment license.”


Portions of the approved legislation go into effect immediately, with full implementation of Nevada’s cannabis reform bill slated for January 1, 2024.

 

[momofthegoons]

New Cannabis Consumption Lounge License Approved in Nevada​

LA Lounge LLC has received the first conditional cannabis consumption license for a business that isn’t a dispensary.

With the debut of The Sphere in Las Vegas, Nevada and the growing updates for entertainment and tourism, officials are slowly moving forward with consumption lounge license approval. On July 25, the Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board (CCB) approved the state’s first conditional license for a stand-alone cannabis consumption lounge.

The first winning license belongs to LA Lounge LLC, which is the first independent company that’s not connected to a dispensary. According to KTNV Las Vegas, the owners don’t have a location picked out yet, but once they do it will need to be inspected by the CCB before beginning operation. Once a business receives a license, they have one year to get things up and running.

The first round of consumption lounge licenses were approved in June, which included Planet 13 and Thrive Cannabis Marketplace in Clark County, and The Venue at SoL Cannabis in Washoe County. These businesses could see their consumption lounges open up by the end of 2023, if they receive final approval from the CCB. “We get asked about it daily by most customers,” said David Farris, Vice President of Sales and Marketing with Planet 13.

Recently, CCB Executive Director Tyler Klimas confirmed that things are progressing well. “It sounds like we will likely see some consumption lounges open by the end of the year, maybe some as soon as October,” Klimas said, according to KTNV Las Vegas. At the most recent meeting, the CCB also adopted new regulations for air ventilation requirements that are supposed to make it easier for applicants to comply with.

Another prospective license owner, Chandler Cooks, attended the July 25 meeting. He told KTNV Las Vegas that he plans to open a lounge called Moulin Noir in downtown Las Vegas. “We already submitted everything that is required of us, so we are hoping to be at the next CCB meeting and get the conditional license,” Cooks said. “Ideally, we would like to be open by January. We want to beat the curve for Super Bowl.” The next CCB meeting will be held on August 22 for more potential licenses to be granted.

Consumption lounges were approved in June 2022. Prior to that, visitors and residents could only consume cannabis within a private residence. Forty conditional licenses were approved last fall. “We will do sit down interviews and make sure we understand their ownership structure and their business plan and then they will come in front of the board and the board will determine them suitable or not to proceed to perfecting their license,” Klimas said at the time.

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported in January that 38.8 million people visited Las Vegas in 2022. While the state of Nevada stands to benefit greatly from its consumption lounges, other states have also been progressing with public consumption locations as well.

In California, consumption lounges are in full swing in places like San Francisco, which has a rich history with lounges during its early medical cannabis era. Alaska adopted early rules for consumption lounges in 2018, and the first one opened in 2021. Colorado started accepting license applications back in 2021, and so far there are a few private lounges that are currently available.

Other states such as Massachusetts have approved social consumption programs but have not yet finalized plans. Most recently in June and July, the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) held listening sessions for social consumption “to hear from stakeholders prior to drafting new policies. After draft regulations are prepared and published, there will be notice of a formal public comment period as an opportunity to provide additional feedback.”

In May, Massachusetts Gaming Commissioner Bruce Stebbins explained that the state’s pilot program would be “burdensome and expensive” and the CCC scrapped it in favor of a more streamlined process.

 

[Baron23]

I've never understood possession limits....I mean, you can actually buy and own a railroad car load of Scotch whiskey, for example. Right?

Nevada Marijuana Possession Limit More Than Doubles Under New Law Taking Effect Monday​

Effective Monday, the marijuana possession limit for adults in Nevada will more than double to 2.5 ounces. Recreational retailers will also become authorized to serve medical cannabis patients as well, without having to get a separate license.


The policy changes are coming into effect under a large-scale marijuana reform bill that Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) signed into law in June. The legislation also broadens eligibility for participation in the market by people with prior felony convictions.


One of the key provisions of the law increases the possession and purchase limit for cannabis from one ounce to 2.5 ounces. The amount of cannabis concentrates that adults can possess is also being doubled from one-eighth of an ounce to one-quarter of an ounce.



Also, it makes it so adult-use marijuana retailers will no longer need to have a separate medical cannabis license to serve patients. Recreational retailers will automatically serve as dual licensees, and existing medical cannabis licensees can apply to dually serve adult consumers.


Regulators will no longer be able to issue or renew medical marijuana licenses after Monday—unless the applicant is located in a jurisdiction that has opted out of permitting adult-use facilities. Medical cannabis patients would be exempt from the state excise tax at recreational retailers.



Fees for licensing applications and renewals will also be reduced under the new law.


Another major change will give regulators discretion when considering the issuance of marijuana business licenses to people with prior felony convictions.


The Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board will be empowered to approve licenses to key stakeholders of a cannabis company who have such prior convictions if it “determines that doing so would not pose a threat to the public health or safety or negatively impact the cannabis industry in this State.”



The board will also need to “impose any conditions and limitations on the granting of an exemption that the Board determines necessary to preserve the public health and safety or mitigate the impact of granting the exemption on the cannabis industry in this State.”


Further, the law requires the state Cannabis Advisory Commission to carry out a study into the potential effects of removing marijuana from the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA), as well as the state’s Uniform Controlled Substances Act, on the marijuana industry.


A county court deemed the state’s designation of cannabis as a Schedule I controlled substance despite the enactment of legalization as unconstitutional last year. The state Board of Pharmacy is appealing the ruling.



Additionally, the legislation will require regulators to consider whether any proposed rule change for the industry “is likely to have an adverse effect on the environment and, if so, whether there are any methods to reduce or eliminate that adverse effect which would not impose an economic burden on holders of an adult-use cannabis establishment license or medical cannabis establishment license.”