Clark County OKs medical pot regulations, taxes
Clark County commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved medical marijuana regulations for the up-and-coming industry.
The 40-page ordinance is the first one for the county’s medical marijuana industry. It’s intended to regulate all aspects of the industry in unincorporated areas, which include dispensaries, cultivation facilities, production facilities and laboratories.
The county in June approved 18 applicants for dispensaries, 58 permits for cultivation facilities, 38 permits for production facilities and five permits for laboratories for testing the drug. State approval is still needed before facilities can open.
Each medical marijuana establishment, other than a testing laboratory, would pay quarterly license fees that increase based on the business’ earnings. The owner will be required to pay 1 percent on gross revenues that are under $150,000 a quarter; 2 percent on gross revenues that exceed $150,000 and go up to $400,000 a quarter; and 3 percent on gross revenues that exceed $400,000 a quarter.
Commission Chairman Steve Sisolak said the tiered system is intended to be fair for different sizes of medical marijuana establishments, including smaller operations that have just 2,500 square feet of space.
The highly-detailed ordinance spells out business practices that must be followed, such as validating a patient’s registry identification card with the electronic verification system and only delivering the product to the patient’s address, or the address of the patient’s designated primary caregiver. If neither person is present when a delivery happens, the product must go back to the dispensary.
Business signs cannot be deceptive, appeal to minors, or suggest that the medical marijuana is for recreational purposes.
Signs cannot be within 1,000 feet of the perimeter of a private or public school for students in preschool through high school, on a public transit vehicle, or on a publicly owned or operated facility.
Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 702-405-9781. Find him on Twitter: @BenBotkin1.
