Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
It was a moment more than two years in the making – or 17 years, depending on how you look at it.
The first legal marijuana dispensary in Clark County opened Monday morning and made its first sales.
Euphoria Wellness, a shop in the southwest Las Vegas Valley, is one of 40 dispensaries approved for Clark County last year by state health officials.
Before Monday's opening, elected officials and reporters toured the shop at 7780 S. Jones Blvd.
Beyond its lobby sits a secure area protected by bullet-resistant glass, where samples of six strains of marijuana waited inside a glass case on a countertop for customers to see and smell before buying.
All the marijuana sold was in prepackaged pill jars in locked cases behind another counter.
The shop opened Monday for up to 200 people who had pre-registered and RSVP'd to an invitation. It will sell to as many as 200 more invited guests Tuesday, then on Wednesday will open for anyone with a state-issued patient card.
The marijuana was selling for $17 to $20 a gram or $95 to $114 per quarter ounce.
"We're super-excited it's finally here," said Darlene Purdy, the shop's managing director.
Euphoria becomes just the second dispensary in Nevada, the first being a Sparks one that opened July 31.
A Long Wait
Growing your own marijuana with a doctor's permission and a state-issued card has been legal in Nevada since 2001. State voters twice approved legalization for medical use, in 1998 and 2000.
The Nevada Legislature voted to allow dispensaries and commercial growing in 2013. And late last year, the state Division of Public and Behavioral Health chose the winning applicants.
The long wait since for a Las Vegas-area dispensary frustrated patients, lawmakers and advocates.
Euphoria once hoped to open as early as February or March. But the debut was delayed by bureaucratic disputes and the wait for commercial crops to be ready.
Euphoria planned to start by selling marijuana bought from home growers, which is allowed under state law, but soon ran into a problem.
County officials first told the dispensary it could buy only 2½ ounces from each home grower. They cited a provision in state law saying a patient can only possess that much "usable marijuana" at one time.
Such small amounts would make marijuana prohibitively expensive to test and made it impossible for the dispensary to gather enough to open for business.
Sen. Tick Segerblom, D-Las Vegas, who sponsored the bill to allow dispensaries, said that kind of limit on patient sales was never intended by the Legislature.
The county then issued Euphoria a business license saying it couldn't sell any patient-grown marijuana, regardless of state law.
Euphoria's owners considered suing the county, but ultimately nixed their plan to use home-grown marijuana and opened Monday with commercially grown plants. Like all marijuana sold in the state, their products have been tested and approved by a state-licensed laboratory.
Supply is still limited, and Euphoria is limiting each patient to half an ounce of marijuana until more crops are ready.
Changing Attitudes
Over the decade and a half since Nevada voters first OK'd medical use, Americans' view of marijuana has shifted significantly.
The Pew Research Center found 53 percent of Americans now support legal marijuana, compared with 31 percent in 2000.
The federal government still outlaws marijuana, but state laws are changing fast.
Recreational marijuana is legal in Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska, while 19 other states allow medical use, according to a survey by Governing magazine. The District of Columbia allows recreational growing and use, but not sales.
"We're reaching a tipping point," Rep. Dina Titus said as she toured the shop.
Titus, D-Nevada, said she expects reforms at the federal level, such as relaxing banking rules for the marijuana industry. But she does not expect full legalization any time soon.
In Nevada, the state has aimed to bring marijuana out of the shadows, making dispensaries look more like pharmacies than sketchy head shops.
That mainstreaming is reflected in Euphoria Wellness' ordinary location in a shopping center south of the 215 Beltway. Its neighbors include a dentist, a sports bar and restaurants.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: First marijuana dispensary in Las Vegas area opens | Las Vegas Review-Journal
Author: Eric Hartley
Contact: Ehartley@reviewjournal.com
Photo Credit: Jeff Scheid/Las Vegas Review-Journal
Website: Las Vegas Review-Journal | The most reliable source for Las Vegas news
The first legal marijuana dispensary in Clark County opened Monday morning and made its first sales.
Euphoria Wellness, a shop in the southwest Las Vegas Valley, is one of 40 dispensaries approved for Clark County last year by state health officials.
Before Monday's opening, elected officials and reporters toured the shop at 7780 S. Jones Blvd.
Beyond its lobby sits a secure area protected by bullet-resistant glass, where samples of six strains of marijuana waited inside a glass case on a countertop for customers to see and smell before buying.
All the marijuana sold was in prepackaged pill jars in locked cases behind another counter.
The shop opened Monday for up to 200 people who had pre-registered and RSVP'd to an invitation. It will sell to as many as 200 more invited guests Tuesday, then on Wednesday will open for anyone with a state-issued patient card.
The marijuana was selling for $17 to $20 a gram or $95 to $114 per quarter ounce.
"We're super-excited it's finally here," said Darlene Purdy, the shop's managing director.
Euphoria becomes just the second dispensary in Nevada, the first being a Sparks one that opened July 31.
A Long Wait
Growing your own marijuana with a doctor's permission and a state-issued card has been legal in Nevada since 2001. State voters twice approved legalization for medical use, in 1998 and 2000.
The Nevada Legislature voted to allow dispensaries and commercial growing in 2013. And late last year, the state Division of Public and Behavioral Health chose the winning applicants.
The long wait since for a Las Vegas-area dispensary frustrated patients, lawmakers and advocates.
Euphoria once hoped to open as early as February or March. But the debut was delayed by bureaucratic disputes and the wait for commercial crops to be ready.
Euphoria planned to start by selling marijuana bought from home growers, which is allowed under state law, but soon ran into a problem.
County officials first told the dispensary it could buy only 2½ ounces from each home grower. They cited a provision in state law saying a patient can only possess that much "usable marijuana" at one time.
Such small amounts would make marijuana prohibitively expensive to test and made it impossible for the dispensary to gather enough to open for business.
Sen. Tick Segerblom, D-Las Vegas, who sponsored the bill to allow dispensaries, said that kind of limit on patient sales was never intended by the Legislature.
The county then issued Euphoria a business license saying it couldn't sell any patient-grown marijuana, regardless of state law.
Euphoria's owners considered suing the county, but ultimately nixed their plan to use home-grown marijuana and opened Monday with commercially grown plants. Like all marijuana sold in the state, their products have been tested and approved by a state-licensed laboratory.
Supply is still limited, and Euphoria is limiting each patient to half an ounce of marijuana until more crops are ready.
Changing Attitudes
Over the decade and a half since Nevada voters first OK'd medical use, Americans' view of marijuana has shifted significantly.
The Pew Research Center found 53 percent of Americans now support legal marijuana, compared with 31 percent in 2000.
The federal government still outlaws marijuana, but state laws are changing fast.
Recreational marijuana is legal in Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska, while 19 other states allow medical use, according to a survey by Governing magazine. The District of Columbia allows recreational growing and use, but not sales.
"We're reaching a tipping point," Rep. Dina Titus said as she toured the shop.
Titus, D-Nevada, said she expects reforms at the federal level, such as relaxing banking rules for the marijuana industry. But she does not expect full legalization any time soon.
In Nevada, the state has aimed to bring marijuana out of the shadows, making dispensaries look more like pharmacies than sketchy head shops.
That mainstreaming is reflected in Euphoria Wellness' ordinary location in a shopping center south of the 215 Beltway. Its neighbors include a dentist, a sports bar and restaurants.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: First marijuana dispensary in Las Vegas area opens | Las Vegas Review-Journal
Author: Eric Hartley
Contact: Ehartley@reviewjournal.com
Photo Credit: Jeff Scheid/Las Vegas Review-Journal
Website: Las Vegas Review-Journal | The most reliable source for Las Vegas news
