Although medical marijuana delivery services have existed in Nevada since 2014, when medical marijuana first became legal, recreational delivery has never been legal.
The Nevada Department of Taxation released a draft of permanent regulations Nov. 7, 2017, for the expected governance of recreational marijuana which went into effect on Jan. 1., but it failed to include anything about home delivery services.
Until recently, temporary regulations allowed home delivery under the “early start” provision, launched on July 1, 2017. But this was quickly eliminated when department officials met in July to discuss a more permanent regulatory system.
Citing public health and safety, Stephanie Klapstein, the Department of Taxation spokesperson said, “We considered the safety of anyone who would be involved…in the delivery process.”
One of the main concerns was the fact that there is no way to register recreational buyers with the state, unlike the medical marijuana process, where all cardholders must register with the state. Those who create the legislation would like to see some sort of system where recreational buyers divulge their name and address to the state. In effect, this will ensure the safety of the delivery staff, as well as protect the delivery businesses.
Many feel that the addition of a recreational registry could lead many who would otherwise purchase their cannabis through a delivery service to seek out other ways to buy marijuana, namely via the black market.
Ben Stilltoe, the owner of Oasis Cannabis in Las Vegas, has concerns about this. He thinks that delivery, in general, helps reduce black market activity and bolsters the state economy. He feels that similar services must be made available and that delivery is essential and will, ultimately, reduce overall criminal activity in the state.
In fact, the Metropolitan Police Narcotic Crimes Division discovered 28 illegal home delivery operations as of July 23, 2017, which is mere weeks after recreational marijuana was made legal in Nevada. In general, Las Vegas law enforcement feels that allowing legal delivery services to operate could potentially decrease the number of illegal businesses and operations that continue to exist and, in many cases, thrive, in the city.
With the knowledge of all of this, the eight-member Tax Commission, by a vote of 8-0, approved the adoption of 258 pages of cannabis regulations which replace the “early start” regulations that were temporarily used as a placeholder while they navigated the murky waters of regulation.
After much consideration and careful discussion, the Tax Commission included a provision for home delivery.
“This process…will be evolving for several years to come,” stated the director of the Nevada Department of Taxation, Deonne Contine.
A Nevada state legislative committee is expected to formally approve the regulations sometime in the next several weeks.
