Lazenby: Nevada Victories

Two major victories for drug de-criminalization and public health, which go hand-in-hand, were recently scored in Nevada. The state’s medical marijuana law, first passed in 1998, required the legislature to create mechanisms for dispensing the drug to patients, and that has finally occurred. Nevada’s Republican governor, Brian Sandoval, signed into law Senate Bill 374, which will establish a state-regulated system of dispensaries, with at least one in each county.

Nevada joins Arizona, Colorado, Maine, New Jersey, New Mexico, and Rhode Island on the list of states that have state-regulated medical marijuana dispensaries. As reported by StopTheDrugWar.org, an organization dedicated to raising awareness of the consequences of prohibition, the bill creates rules and regulations not only for dispensaries, but also for infused product manufacturers and cultivation and testing facilities. Additionally, it imposes 2% excise taxes on both wholesale and retail sales, with 75 percent of revenues going to state education funding and 25 percent going to cover the cost of regulating the medical marijuana industry.

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