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More than a decade after Nevada voters approved medical marijuana the state Senate approved a bill Wednesday giving patients a legal way to obtain the drug.
The Senate approved SB374 on a vote of 17-4, with four Republicans opposed. The bill now moves to the Assembly with just days to go in the 2013 session.
"A lot of work went into this bill and finally after 12 years we're doing what the voters of Nevada told us they wanted us to do," Sen. Tick Segerblom, D-Las Vegas, said on the Senate floor moments before the vote was taken. Segerblom guided the bill through the session.
Nevada voters legalized medical marijuana in 2000 and the next year legislators set up a system for patients to obtain medical marijuana cards. But there is no legal way for patients to acquire medicinal pot unless they grow it themselves.
Earlier this year Segerblom took members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on a field trip to Phoenix to see how Arizona regulates medical marijuana dispensaries. Arizona voters approved medical marijuana in 2010 and about 30,000 people there have medical marijuana cards. In Nevada, that number is about 3,400.
The bill imposes fees and requirements for growers, processors and dispensaries.
Former Nevada U.S. Attorney Greg Brower, now a Republican senator from Reno, supported the bill "somewhat reluctantly."
"This really does boil down for me to a constitutional issue," he said. "The voters of our state have spoken.
"We can disagree if we want to with the wisdom of that decision," he said. "But our situation now mandates we come up with a regulatory regime for dealing with this issue."
Sen. Mark Hutchison, R-Las Vegas, agreed.
"It doesn't matter what I think about the wisdom of the medical use of marijuana," Hutchison said. He said he was satisfied that the regulatory structure set up by the law will prevent Nevada medical marijuana dispensaries from becoming a "Jerry Garcia smoking lounge" – a reference to the late leader of the Grateful Dead rock band.
The bill limits the number of dispensaries to as many as 40 in Clark County, which includes the state's population hub of Las Vegas. Washoe County would be limited to 10 dispensaries, while smaller counties could have one or two, depending on population.
Applicants seeking to operate a medical marijuana establishment would have to pay a one-time, nonrefundable fee of $5,000, as well as costs for background investigations.
Initial registration certificate fees would range from $20,000 to operate a dispensary to $3,000 for a cultivation operation and $2,000 to turn marijuana into edible products like brownies.
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: sfgate.com
Author: Sandra Chereb
Contact: Contacts at San Francisco Chronicle - SFGate
Website: Nevada Senate approves medical pot dispensaries - SFGate
The Senate approved SB374 on a vote of 17-4, with four Republicans opposed. The bill now moves to the Assembly with just days to go in the 2013 session.
"A lot of work went into this bill and finally after 12 years we're doing what the voters of Nevada told us they wanted us to do," Sen. Tick Segerblom, D-Las Vegas, said on the Senate floor moments before the vote was taken. Segerblom guided the bill through the session.
Nevada voters legalized medical marijuana in 2000 and the next year legislators set up a system for patients to obtain medical marijuana cards. But there is no legal way for patients to acquire medicinal pot unless they grow it themselves.
Earlier this year Segerblom took members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on a field trip to Phoenix to see how Arizona regulates medical marijuana dispensaries. Arizona voters approved medical marijuana in 2010 and about 30,000 people there have medical marijuana cards. In Nevada, that number is about 3,400.
The bill imposes fees and requirements for growers, processors and dispensaries.
Former Nevada U.S. Attorney Greg Brower, now a Republican senator from Reno, supported the bill "somewhat reluctantly."
"This really does boil down for me to a constitutional issue," he said. "The voters of our state have spoken.
"We can disagree if we want to with the wisdom of that decision," he said. "But our situation now mandates we come up with a regulatory regime for dealing with this issue."
Sen. Mark Hutchison, R-Las Vegas, agreed.
"It doesn't matter what I think about the wisdom of the medical use of marijuana," Hutchison said. He said he was satisfied that the regulatory structure set up by the law will prevent Nevada medical marijuana dispensaries from becoming a "Jerry Garcia smoking lounge" – a reference to the late leader of the Grateful Dead rock band.
The bill limits the number of dispensaries to as many as 40 in Clark County, which includes the state's population hub of Las Vegas. Washoe County would be limited to 10 dispensaries, while smaller counties could have one or two, depending on population.
Applicants seeking to operate a medical marijuana establishment would have to pay a one-time, nonrefundable fee of $5,000, as well as costs for background investigations.
Initial registration certificate fees would range from $20,000 to operate a dispensary to $3,000 for a cultivation operation and $2,000 to turn marijuana into edible products like brownies.
News Hawk- Truth Seeker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: sfgate.com
Author: Sandra Chereb
Contact: Contacts at San Francisco Chronicle - SFGate
Website: Nevada Senate approves medical pot dispensaries - SFGate
