Nevada medical pot applications total 437

The Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health reported receiving 437 applications for medical marijuana establishments at its Carson City office by Monday’s deadline.

That number is well below the state’s estimated number of nearly 500 applications, but the state has yet to receive applications mailed and postmarked by 5 p.m. Monday. A final number should be released by Friday, according to Chad Westom, the division bureau chief.

The state began accepting applications Aug. 5 for dispensaries, cultivation facilities, production facilities of edible and infused products and testing laboratories, and had received 191 by the start of business Monday. Each application came with a $5,000 nonrefundable processing fee.

The number of the license by types and where the applications are generally located throughout the state will likely be available by the end of the week.

The state’s application review process has already begun and will focus on public health and safety, and delivering marijuana as medicine. The state will announce the results of its application reviews in early November. Applicants who are approved for provisional certification will go to the various municipalities for additional permits and licensing, including approval for site plans, zoning and proximity to other medical marijuana businesses or facilities.

Dispensary owners will have to pay a $30,000 fee to the state if approved for a provisional certificate and are licensed by a local jurisdiction. Not everyone approved at the state level will receive local approval to operate because the number of dispensaries allowed is capped.

The Legislature in 2013 approved Assembly Bill 374 authorizing 66 dispensaries to operate in Nevada, 40 of them in Clark County. The county allocated itself 18, five for Henderson, 12 for Las Vegas and four for North Las Vegas. The Mesquite City Council approved one and Boulder City opted out of the industry. The state didn’t set numbers for cultivation, labs or manufacturing sites.

The first dispensaries are likely to open early 2015.

Contact Arnold M. Knightly at aknightly@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3882. Find him on Twitter: @KnightlyGrind.