Ok bottle neck in Nevada....
On July 1, recreational marijuana sales became legal in Nevada.
Just a week later, the state was facing a weed shortage so great the governor issued a state of emergency.
The root of the shortage is a legal battle over distribution.
You see, when Nevadans voted to approve recreational pot in November, they voted to regulate it “like alcohol.”
Those who wrote the bill (and common sense) say that simply meant marijuana would only be sold to adults over the age of 21 at licensed locations.
But alcohol distributors disagree.
They say weed distribution falls under their exclusive purview.
“The alcohol distributors really want exclusive rights, not just the ability to apply and compete in an open marketplace,” Neal Gidvani, senior counsel in financial services and cannabis law at Greenspoon Marder, told Fortune.
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Shockingly, they got a judge to agree, leaving just two alcohol distributors licensed to transport marijuana in all the state.
Now, dispensaries are running out of product, Nevada isn’t collecting tax money, and the governor has declared a state of emergency.
All of this for what boils down to a massive money grab predicated on a legal technicality.
For Nevada, it’s a disaster. And for other states still grappling with their own legalization efforts, it’s a cautionary tale.
California, for instance, is desperate to avoid a similar fate.
The Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation has already said it will ensure sufficient licenses are provided to growers, testers, and distributors before sales go live on January 1, 2018.
However, a brand new state agency, the Department of Tax and Fee Administration, is being created to handle marijuana cultivation and excise taxes. That department was established on July 1 and is still in the process of organizing.
Furthermore, federal banks are still refusing to process pot sale proceeds because the drug remains illegal under federal law. That means the new tax agency will have to accept cash payments for taxes from as many as 250 cannabis distributors.
Wouldn’t you just love to rob that Brink's truck?
