Las Vegas City Council to consider medical marijuana licensing bill
A 28-page bill regarding licensing of medical marijuana establishments in the city of Las Vegas remains a work in progress, but final decisions are expected at Wednesday’s Las Vegas City Council meeting.
On Monday, a three-member recommending committee discussed plenty of changes but passed the bill on to the full council for consideration as written, with the understanding it will be changed.
After the meeting, former City Councilman Frank Hawkins said his two major concerns are the restrictions on advertising in the bill and its failure to address compassionate care.
There is no language allowing a caretaker to go to a dispensary and obtain medical marijuana for a severely ill patient unable to travel.
There is also strict language regarding advertising, prohibiting advertising that might appeal to children, like a Joe Camel or cartoon character. Also prohibited: signs on a vehicle or handbills handed to a person. It’s prohibited to advertise on “any video, radio or broadcast medium available to the general public.”
Dispensaries can advertise in newspapers, magazines and online.
“Every issue is pending. It’s all up in the air,” said Councilman Bob Coffin, the most aggressive advocate of medical marijuana on the council. He offered a new proposal to take 10 percent of the annual taxes raised and use the money for research to validate the effectiveness of medical marijuana. Mayor Carolyn Goodman favored that idea because she has requested extensive research into medical marijuana and how it is regulated in other jurisdictions, including Amsterdam.
The bill bans passing out samples, says employees cannot be paid for services with marijuana products and bans customer loyalty programs. Drive-thru windows are not allowed, nor can dispensaries mail or transport their products.
During the public hearing, people complained the security required would cost $33,000 annually, and said that was too much.
Business License Manager Karen Duddlesten said one change is that fees have been cut by 60 percent.
Annual fees for licenses would be $75,000 for a dispensary, $10,000 for a lab and $25,000 for an edible products facility. A cultivation facility starts at $20,000 for the first 5,000 square feet and $10,000 for every additional 5,000 square feet of cultivation space.
People asked the city to change the hours when medical marijuana could be sold. As written, it could be sold between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. daily, and some people argued for 24-hour access under a special permit.
Contact Jane Ann Morrison at jmorrison@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0275.
