If you haven’t heard about the legalization of medical marijuana in Las Vegas by now, you’ve probably been living under a rock. As of April 1, 2014, Nevada laws will permit a limited number of medical marijuana dispensaries to operate in Nevada. The law also allows for cultivation facilities, testing labs, and producers of edible marijuana products.

So what’s the difference between marijuana cultivation, marijuana production, and marijuana dispensing? That answer will be explored in further articles written by the team at Mark Coburn’s Law Offices, but for now, here is some additional information about the new medical marijuana industry in Southern Nevada.

First to note: the Las Vegas application processes for opening a dispensary, a cultivation facility, an edible marijuana production facility and a testing lab are the same. The applicant must first obtain an application from the Nevada State Health Division, which asks for the following information:

• Name of the prospective medical marijuana establishment
• Physical address of the prospective medical marijuana establishment as well as the address of any associated medical marijuana establishments
• Evidence that applicant controls at least $250,000 in liquid assets to pay for initial expenses and compliance
• Evidence that the applicant either owns the property or has permission to use the property for a medical marijuana establishment
• Names, addresses & dates of birth of each prospective owner, officer and board member
• Fingerprints of the medical marijuana establishment’s prospective owners, officers and board members as well as their permission to submit to a FBI background check
• Names, addresses and dates of birth of each prospective employee
• Prospective operating procedures of the medical marijuana establishment regarding its safety, security, electronic verification system, and inventory control system
• Prospective operating procedures for selling or delivering marijuana (if applicable)
• A letter from the local government showing that the prospective medical marijuana establishment will be in compliance with local ordinances, land use rules & zoning rules
• The Nevada State Health Division responds to applications within 90 days, and if accepted, the medical marijuana establishment is issued a 20-digit identification number, which is good for one year before needing to be renewed. The NSHD looks at the following factors when determining whether or not to allow a new medical marijuana facility to open:
• Applicant’s financial resources,
• Previous business and non-profit experience of the prospective, owners, officers and board members,
• Education and expertise of the prospective owners, officers and board members,
• Convenience of the proposed location and its impact on the community
• Adequacy of the size of the proposed establishment,
• Proposed plan for the care, safekeeping and quality of the medical marijuana, and
• Amount of taxes paid and contributions made to Nevada (or its political subdivisions) by the prospective owners, officers and board members.
• Las Vegas medical marijuana dispensaries cannot sell medical marijuana to all cardholding medical marijuana patients in Nevada. Each medical marijuana cardholder specifies only one dispensary to buy from. In addition to that rule, there are additional requirements that must be adhered to by medical marijuana establishments in Southern Nevada. Some of these include:
• The medical marijuana must be stored in enclosed, locked facility that is accessible only by agents of the establishment and repairmen that they allow inside.
• The medical marijuana must be stored in a secure, locked device, display case, cabinet or room within the enclosed locked facility. They must be protected by a lock that meets security ratings established by Underwriters Laboratories for Key locks.
• Only a medical marijuana establishment registered agent employed by or volunteering at the facility may remove the marijuana and only for the purpose of dispensing it; furthermore, they may not remove it until immediately before it is dispensed.
• The establishment must maintain an inventory control system approved by the Nevada State Health Division that records the chain of custody of the marijuana from seed to sale including names, dates, quantities and potency. The medical marijuana patient cardholders’ names should remain encrypted and private.
• The establishment also must maintain an electronic verification system approved by the Nevada State Health Division that records all the names and card information of the medical marijuana patients who purchased from it within the last 60 days. It must also include the names and card information of agents and volunteers who work there. (Note that Nevada medical marijuana establishments may share this information with each other, and the information must be accessible to the Nevada State Health Division.)
• The medical marijuana establishment must be located in a commercial or industrial zone or overlay.
• The medical marijuana establishment also must be located in its own separate building or facility.
• The medical marijuana establishment must comply with local rules regarding land use, zoning, and signage.
• The exterior must be professional and traditional of medical establishments. And the signage must be discreet.
• As well, dispensaries and production facilities of edible marijuana product and marijuana-infused products must adhere to the following rules:
• The marijuana must be clearly and unambiguously labeled as medical marijuana.
• The marijuana must not be packaged in a way that is appealing to children.
• The marijuana must be regulated and sold on the basis of THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) concentration and not by weight.
• The marijuana must be labeled so as to allow tracking by the establishment’s inventory control system.
• And, medical marijuana dispensaries specifically must follow these rules, too:
• All marijuana products must show the weight, concentration and content of THC in clear and accurate labels.
• Dispensaries cannot sell a customer more than two and one-half ounces of medical marijuana within a fourteen-day period.
• The dispensary must post a sign stating the legal limits of medical marijuana.
• The dispensary must have a single entrance for patrons.

Aspects of the following laws were referenced in this article, and you may find more information regarding medical marijuana laws in Las Vegas by reading up on each of these laws in greater detail:

Nev. SB 374 (2013).

Nev. SB 374(10) (2013)

Nev. SB 374(11.7) (2013).

Nev. SB 374(13) (2013).

Nev. SB 374(13.5) (2013).

Nev. SB 374(15) (2013).

Nev. SB 374(17) (2013).

N.R.S. 453A (2013).

Nev. SB 374(12)(2)(a) (2013).

Nev. SB 374(12) (2013).

Nev. SB 374(12) (2013).

Nev. SB 374(24.4) (2013).

Nev. SB 374(11- 11.5) (2013).

Nev. SB 374(16) (2013).

Nev. SB 374(19.6)(2)(b) (2013).

Nev. SB 374(19.1-19.5) (2013).

Nev. SB 374(19.1-19.4) (2013).

Nev. SB 374(10.5) (2013).

Nev. SB 374(19.7) (2013).

Nev. SB 374(19.1) (2013).

Nev. SB 374(10)(3)(a) (2013).

Nev. SB 374(11.5) (2013).

Nev. SB 374(19)(6) (2013).

Nev. SB 374(19)(5) (2013).

Nev. SB 374(19.9) (2013).

Nev. SB 374 (16-17) (2013).

Or, call our Law Office today for a free consultation with a member of our team. (702) 384-1001. We’re here to help you with all of your Las Vegas Medical Marijuana needs.