Medical marijuana patients in Nevada will finally have legal access to their medicine.

[caption id="attachment_6590" align="alignright" width="240"] Gov. Brian Sandoval[/caption]

On Wednesday, 13 years after Nevada voters approved the medical use of marijuana, Gov. Brian Sandoval signed SB 374 into law. The bill establishes the regulatory framework for medical marijuana dispensaries in the state, thereby putting an end to patients’ decade-long struggle to obtain their medicine safely. The bill will also allow patients to continue growing their own plants (and increases the number they may possess) until 2016.

The law allows the state to license up to 66 dispensaries throughout the state, distributed according to population density.

Additionally, the state will impose medical marijuana-specific taxes, of which 75% will fund education and 25% will be spent on implementing and enforcing the regulations.

The governor’s approval of the bill was sparked by Judge Donald Mosley’s critique last year of the state’s medical marijuana law. Mosley declared the existing law “unconstitutional” for failing to provide patients with the legal means to obtain their medicine.

Nevada is now the 14^th state to allow medical marijuana dispensaries.

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[caption id="attachment_6498" align="alignright" width="139"] Sen. Tick Segerblom[/caption]

Yesterday, the Nevada Senate passed SB 374, which would allow and regulate medical marijuana dispensaries and growers in the state. Sponsored by Sen. Tick Segerblom, the bill received a 17-4 vote — well above the 2/3 votes needed to advance the bill to the Assembly. The legislature is scheduled to adjourn by early Tuesday morning, so time is running short.

Despite the constitutional rights established in Article IV, Section 38 of the Nevada Constitution, the legislature failed to provide seriously ill patients with a way to obtain medical marijuana — other than growing it themselves or finding a volunteer to do so. SB 374 aims to fix that shortfall by authorizing and regulating producers and providers.

There are still several critical steps ahead for this bill. If you are a Nevada resident, please ask your assembly member to support SB 374.

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[caption id="attachment_6143" align="alignright" width="198"] Sen. Richard Segerblom[/caption]

Until recently, things had been all quiet on the marijuana front in Nevada. That changed suddenly last week when Sen. Richard “Tick” Segerblom introduced SB 374, a bill to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries in Nevada, and Assemblyman Joe Hogan introduced AB 402, which would regulate marijuana like alcohol.

We’re already halfway through Nevada’s scheduled session, with adjournment slated for June 3, so time is short. If you live in Nevada, please contact your elected officials today and urge them to support the dispensary bill and to support removing criminal penalties and regulating marijuana like alcohol.

[caption id="attachment_6144" align="alignleft" width="240"] Assemblyman Joe Hogan[/caption]

Sen. Segerblom’s bill would fix current Nevada law, which prohibits buying or selling marijuana. Last year, a Nevada judge called that “ridiculous” and “absurd” and called upon the legislature to pass a bill much like SB 374. And of course, Hogan’s bill would be a financial boon for the cash-strapped state. Rather than spending millions locking up adults for using a substance safer than alcohol, the state could make millions in tax revenue.

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