SB277 – In Honor of Native American Heritage Month
To celebrate Native American Heritage Month, we are sharing all the favorable outcomes of the 82nd Legislative Session.
As all our relatives become more engaged in civic matters, and because many of our Tribal Nations own and operate cannabis retail and processing centers please know that the bill which “revises provisions relating to cannabis, ” is now a law. Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of persons and establishments involved in the cannabis industry in this State by the Cannabis Compliance Board. (Title 56 of NRS) Existing law sets forth the method by which the Board may adopt, amend or repeal regulations. (NRS 678A.460) Section 1.5 of this bill requires the Board, before adopting, amending or repealing any regulation, to consider whether the proposed action 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. Existing law establishes different requirements for the cultivation, production and sale of cannabis and cannabis products depending upon whether the cannabis establishment engaging in such activities is an adult-use cannabis establishment or a medical cannabis establishment. (Chapters 678C and 678D of NRS)
Under existing law, a person who holds both an adult-use cannabis establishment license and a medical cannabis establishment license of the same type is a “dual licensee” and is, in general, authorized to combine the operations of the adult-use cannabis establishment and medical cannabis establishment, subject to various requirements. (NRS 678A.145, 678C.410, 678C.430, 678D.430) Section 13 of this bill deems each adult-use cannabis establishment to be a dual licensee and authorizes the establishment to engage in activities relating to the medical use of cannabis to the same extent as if the adult-use cannabis establishment held a medical cannabis establishment license of the same type. Section 15 of this bill exempts from the excise tax imposed on retail sales of cannabis or cannabis products by an adult-use cannabis retail store any sale of cannabis for the medical use of cannabis or a medical cannabis product to the holder of a registry identification card or letter of approval by an adult-use cannabis retail store deemed to be a dual licensee pursuant to section 13. Sections 3, 5 and 6 of this bill prohibit the Board from issuing or renewing a medical cannabis establishment license on or after January 1, 2024, unless the medical cannabis establishment is located in a local governmental jurisdiction that is a “covered jurisdiction,” which section 3 defines to mean a local governmental jurisdiction that has adopted local cannabis control measures which prohibit the operation of adult-use cannabis establishments. Section 17 of this bill sets forth a process by which a person who holds a medical cannabis establishment license on January 1, 2024, for a medical cannabis establishment that is not located in a covered jurisdiction may apply for and be issued an adult-use cannabis establishment license of the same type.
Section 3 sets forth a similar process to allow a person who holds a medical cannabis establishment license for a medical cannabis establishment that is located in a covered jurisdiction to apply for and be issued an adult-use cannabis establishment license of the same type if the local governmental jurisdiction in which the establishment is located ceases to be a covered jurisdiction. Existing law imposes limits on the number of:
(1) medical cannabis establishment licenses for medical cannabis dispensaries and adult-use cannabis establishment licenses for adult-use cannabis retail stores that the Board is authorized to issue within a county; and
(2) medical cannabis establishment licenses and adult-use cannabis establishment licenses that a single person, group of persons or entity is authorized to hold in a county whose population is 100,000 or more (currently Clark and Washoe Counties). (NRS 678B.220, 678B.230, 678B.260, 678B.270) Sections 3 and 17 deem an adult-use cannabis establishment license issued pursuant to those sections to be a medical cannabis establishment license for the purpose of those limitations, thereby exempting such a license from the limitations applicable to adult-use cannabis establishment licenses while continuing to subject such licenses to the limitations applicable to medical cannabis establishment licenses. Section 10 of this bill decreases the maximum amount of the fees that the Board is authorized to charge for the issuance or renewal of an adult-use cannabis establishment license, other than the fee for the initial issuance of an adult-use cannabis establishment license for an adult-use cannabis retail store, to an amount that is equal to the amount set forth under existing law for the issuance or renewal, as applicable, of a medical cannabis establishment license of the same type. Existing law requires a cannabis establishment that is: (1) a cannabis sales facility to have a single secure entrance for patrons; and (2) not a cannabis sales facility to have a single secure entrance. (NRS 678B.510) Section 11 of this bill authorizes any cannabis establishment to have more than one entrance so long as each entrance is secure. Existing law provides an exemption from state prosecution for the possession, delivery and production of cannabis for:
(1) a person who holds a valid registry identification card or letter of approval; and
(2) a person who is 21 years of age or older. (NRS 678C.200, 678D.200)
However, under existing law, that exemption is subject to certain limitations. For a person who is 21 years of age or older, that exemption applies only to the extent that the person does not, at any one time, possess, deliver or produce more than:
(1) one ounce of usable cannabis;
(2) one-eighth of an ounce of concentrated cannabis;
(3) six cannabis plants; and
(4) a maximum allowable quantity of adult-use cannabis products established by regulation of the Board. (NRS 678D.200)
Section 14 of this bill increases the amount of usable cannabis, from 1 ounce to 2.5 ounces, and the amount of concentrated cannabis, from one-eighth of an ounce to one-fourth of an ounce, that a person who is 21 years of age or older is authorized to possess, deliver or produce at any one time and remain subject to the exemption from state prosecution for the possession, delivery and production of cannabis. Existing law prohibits a medical cannabis dispensary from selling to a person more than 1 ounce of cannabis in any one transaction. (NRS 678C.440) Existing regulations of the Board prohibit any cannabis sales facility from selling to any consumer an amount of cannabis or cannabis products which exceeds:
(1) one ounce of usable cannabis;
(2) one-eighth of an ounce of concentrated cannabis or cannabis products containing not more than 3,543 milligrams of THC; or
(3) a combination of usable and concentrated cannabis not to exceed the legal limit. (Nev. Cannabis Compliance Bd. Regs. § 7.025)
Section 12 of this bill eliminates provisions prohibiting a medical cannabis dispensary from selling to a person more than 1 ounce of cannabis in any one transaction.
Section 4 of this bill instead prohibits any cannabis sales facility from selling to a person in any one transaction more than 2.5 ounces of usable cannabis or one-fourth of an ounce of concentrated cannabis.
Existing law prohibits the Board from issuing a:
(1) medical cannabis establishment license or adult-use cannabis establishment license if any of the persons proposed to be owners, officers or board members of the proposed medical or adult-use cannabis establishment have been convicted of an excluded felony offense; and
(2) cannabis establishment agent registration card if the applicant for the registration card has been convicted of an excluded felony offense. (NRS 678B.210, 678B.250, 678B.340)
Section 4.5 of this bill requires the Board to develop and implement a process by which a person who has been convicted of an excluded felony offense may submit to the Board a petition for an exemption from those prohibitions.
Section 4.5 authorizes the Board to:
(1) grant the exemption only if the Board determines that doing so would not pose a threat to the public health or safety or negatively impact the cannabis industry in this State; and
(2) 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.
Section 4.5 requires the Board to adopt regulations to carry out the provisions of section 4.5.
Sections 5, 7 and 8 of this bill revise provisions setting forth the prohibitions concerning excluded felony offenses to reflect the authorization provided in section 4.5 for the Board to grant an exemption from those prohibitions.
Existing law requires a person who holds an ownership interest of less than 5 percent in a cannabis establishment to register with the Board as a cannabis establishment agent and obtain a cannabis establishment agent registration card. (NRS 678B.340)
Section 8 of this bill eliminates that requirement. Section 1 of this bill eliminates provisions authorizing the Board to adopt regulations establishing policies and procedures pursuant to which the Board may waive the requirement for a person who holds an ownership interest in a cannabis establishment of less than 5 percent to reflect the elimination of that requirement in section 8. Existing law authorizes the board of county commissioners of a county and the governing body of an incorporated city to fix, impose and collect a license tax on cannabis establishments. (NRS 244.35253, 268.0977) Sections 14.3 and 14.6 of this bill authorize the board of county commissioners of a county and the governing body of an incorporated city to use any portion of any money collected from that license tax to educate the public on safely purchasing cannabis and cannabis products from licensed cannabis establishments and the safe consumption of cannabis products. Existing law defines “marijuana” for the purposes of the regulation of controlled substances. (NRS 453.096)
Section 15.5 of this bill excludes from the definition of “marijuana”:
(1) root balls which have been fully separated from the stalks of the plant of the genus Cannabis after harvest; and
(2) the seeds of that plant. Under the federal Controlled Substances Act, cannabis, referred to as “marihuana,” is included in the list of controlled substances in schedule I. (21 U.S.C. § 812) Similarly, existing regulations adopted by the State Board of Pharmacy pursuant to the provisions of the state Uniform Controlled Substances Act include cannabis, referred to as “marijuana,” in the list of controlled substances in schedule I. (NRS 453.011-453.348; NAC 453.510)
Section 16 of this bill requires the Cannabis Advisory Commission to conduct a study concerning the potential effects of the removal of cannabis from the list of controlled substances included in schedule I pursuant to the federal Controlled Substances Act or the state Uniform Controlled Substances Act on the cannabis industry in this State. The NEVADA INDIAN COMMISSION (NIC) is a State agency created by statute in 1965 to “study matters
affecting the social and economic welfare and well-being of American Indians residing in Nevada, including but not limited to matters and problems relating to Indian affairs and to federal and state control, responsibility, policy, and operations affecting such Indians.” Beginning on July 1, 2024, our agency will be known as the Department of Native American Affairs (DNA).
For more information about new cannabis regulations, click here.