Kettleful of questions accompany pot

Whether this kettle of fish will wind up calling the pot movement here black is anybody’s guess.

“This kettle of fish” mentioned above is the action on Independence Day eve by Carson City’s Board of Supervisors. If you were off the grid or paying no heed, be advised the board approved zoning and related local regulations for medical marijuana establishments in Nevada’s capital city. A new day is virtually certain to dawn soon, with two dispensaries and any number of cultivation, production and testing facilities allowed if approved individually later.

There are those who rue Thursday evening action as the culmination of a black day, fearing marijuana for medicinal purposes will cause multiple problems and open the door to recreational pot advocates. Most others, if you take into account a majority approved putting the medical pot concept into the state Constitution 14 years ago, may view this as a move in the right direction.

One lingering question is whether Nevada’s medical marijuana system is a precursor to the Silver State eventually joining Colorado and Washington state as places where recreational pot usage is legalized. No one knows the future, but commercial forces are steaming toward creation of a burgeoning hemp industry with related spinoffs and tentacles reaching everywhere dollars can flow.

One small example came to light in Nevada not long before Carson City’s Board of Supervisors voted to adopt its pot ordinance. Cannabis Sativa, Inc., a company traded publicly over the counter, announced from Mesquite in Southern Nevada it had acquired a subsidiary and also named Gary Johnson, former New Mexico governor and Libertarian candidate for U.S. president, as Cannabis Sativa’s new president.

“With the legalization of marijuana in Colorado and Washington, we are already seeing that the demand is significant,” Johnson was quoted as saying. “We believe the opportunity is here to deliver products that could change the world for the better.”

Johnson’s views on legalizing pot are old news. But his new role in the growing national pot business trend is interesting as forces of change gather. Cannabis Sativa, Inc., which trades under the symbol CBDS, said it’s an intellectual property and cannabis company. It also has a website list of more than 170 publicly-traded companies linked to cannabis-related work or ventures. From A to Z, they range across this growing landscape.

Among them are Abbott Laboratories (symbol ABT), a pharmaceutical giant that was identified as into synthetic cannabinoids, and Zoned Properties, Inc. (ZDPY), which does real estate acquisitions, development and grow facility leases.

It all brings to mind a kettleful of pot questions.

John Barrette covers Carson City government and business. He can be reached at jbarrette@nevadaappeal.com.