Nevada got a new law on January 1 that changes a lot of its cannabis rules. One of the changes is that the state’s limit on weed possession has been doubled. Nevada lawmakers passed Senate Bill 277 this spring, and on June 14, Republican Governor Joe Lombardo signed it into law.
Senate Bill 277 changes Nevada’s weed laws in a number of important ways. In 2001, the state legalized medical marijuana. In 2016, Question 2 passed, making marijuana legal for people 21 and older for recreational use.
The law more than doubles the amount of marijuana that people can legally own and buy in Nevada. The limit goes from one ounce to 2.5 ounces. As part of the bill, the limits on cannabis extracts are raised from 1/8 of an ounce to 1/4 of an ounce.
The law also says that all Nevada dispensaries for adult use can sell medical marijuana users cannabis products. State cannabis officials will not be able to give out new licenses for medical marijuana businesses starting next year. The only places they will be able to do so are in parts of the state that have banned the operation of recreational cannabis dispensaries.
The bill’s sponsor, Democratic state Senator Dallas Harris, said that one of the most important parts of Senate Bill 277 for Nevada’s regulated cannabis business is that it lets medical dispensaries serve people who want to use cannabis for recreational purposes.
She told the Las Vegas Sun after the bill was passed, “That’s one of the big changes, but I think there are a bunch of things in the bill that are really meant to be business-friendly and take our cannabis industry to the next level.”
New Law Eases Cannabis Industry
Senate Bill 277 also makes it easier for people with felony records to run or work at cannabis businesses in Nevada. Under the new law, the Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board can give licenses to businesses whose owners have been convicted of felonies in the past 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,” as stated in the law’s text.
Because of the change, the board has 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 bill also changes a rule that says people with certain types of prior felony convictions can’t work in Nevada’s regulated cannabis business. People with these kinds of convictions will be able to ask the Nevada Cannabis Control Board (CCB) for an agent card, which lets them work at a registered cannabis business without first having their records erased.
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Director of the Las Vegas Chamber of Cannabis, Bri Padilla, said, “Right now, the CCB can get petitions from people who have felonies, and they have to go through a process that is kind of like court.” “They will also be heard.” The CCB makes a choice after a background check and a search of their criminal record. The CCB will then say if they’ve been rehabilitated and give them or not give them an agent card for X, Y, or Z reason.
Virginia Got a New Marijuana Regulatory Body
Advocates had hoped that Virginia lawmakers would be able to pass an implementation bill that would allow for regulated recreational marijuana sales by the new year. However, new laws have made the Virginia Cannabis Control Authority (CCA) responsible for overseeing the current medical cannabis program.
Laws passed in 2021 made it legal for people 21 and older to possess and grow cannabis plants at home. These laws required the creation of the CCA. As of now, lawmakers have not been able to get combined sales legislation passed by both houses. However, one senator is “confident” that they will be able to do it in the coming year.