Clark County Commission picks 12 to serve on marijuana panel

Nevada gaming chief Tony Alamo, resort association president Virginia Valentine and Las Vegas Sands executive Andy Abboud were among the 12 people chosen Wednesday to be on a new marijuana advisory panel.

The Clark County Commission’s Green Ribbon Panel will set policies regarding land use and licensing of retail marijuana establishments and recommend proposed changes to zoning and business license codes.

More than 80 people applied for the panel, the following 12 were selected:

• Dr. Tony Alamo, chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Commission, will represent the gaming commission.
• Virginia Valentine, president of the Nevada Resort Association, will represent the association.
• Andy Abboud, Las Vegas Sands vice president of government relations, will represent resort hotels. (Las Vegas Sands Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson was the largest donor to the No on 2 campaign.)
• Lucy Stewart, land planning consultant at LAS Consultants and former county assistant director of planning, will represent local interest hotels.
• Frank Hawkins, co-owner and executive director of the Nevada Wellness Center medical marijuana dispensary, will represent dispensaries.
• Howard Starr, managing member of the House of Herbs marijuana cultivator, will represent standalone cultivation.
• Armen Yemenidjian, founder of Essence Cannabis Dispensaries in Las Vegas, will represent vertically integrated cultivation.
• Dr. Chao-Hsiung Tung, CEO and laboratory scientific director for G3 Labs and member of Nevada’s Independent Laboratory Advisory Committee, will represent laboratory testing.
• Jay Matos, director of LeadNet and medical marijuana lobbyist, will represent production.
• Dr. Carmen F. Jones will be a marijuana patient advocate.
• Andrew Jolley, owner and CEO of Nevada Organic Remedies, will represent the industry association.
• John DiBella, owner of DiBella Flowes and Gifts, will represent the Nevada Retail Association.

Recreational marijuana sales are expected to begin in Nevada on July 1. Possession became legal on Jan. 1 after a voters approved ballot Question 2 in November.

The Review-Journal is owned by the family of Las Vegas Sands Corp. Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson.

Contact Michael Scott Davidson at sdavidson@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861. Follow @davidsonlvrj on Twitter.