Nevada Bill Would Allow Recreational Marijuana Sales to Begin Early

Senator Tick Segerblom and Assemblyman Steve Yeager want to start recreational marijuana sales a few weeks early. They want to see sales starting in mid-June, rather than July 1. The pair introduced Senate Bill 302 in hopes of speeding up the process.

If the bill passes, medical marijuana dispensaries would be permitted to begin recreational sales immediately, according to Reno Gazette-Journal. The program is already being fast tracked, so some lawmakers are leery that Senate Bill 302 will pass. The Department of Taxation says it can be ready should the bill pass.

A statement from Deonne Contine of the Department of Taxation said, “I don’t know about timing. Everything can be done quickly, it just depends on how much you want to spend.”

The new legislation would create a higher tax on recreational sales. It would also take away the 2-percent wholesale tax and replace it with a 5-percent state tax on medical marijuana sales. Tax charged on recreational marijuana sales would be set at 15-percent.

Segerblom says that the new proposition would bring in more tax dollars for the State Distributive School Account. Senate Bill 302 calls for 75-percent of the taxes paid to go to schools with the remaining 25-percent going to the Department of Taxation and local governments to operate the program.

Some lawmakers worry about the software program that the program would use. They worry about the security of the software keeping people’s information safe.

If Senate Bill 302 does pass, medical marijuana dispensaries would still require the necessary approvals to start sales early.