Governor Sandoval has endorsed the Nevada Department of Taxation’s Statement of Emergency for an emergency marijuana regulation that will be considered for adoption by the Nevada Tax Commission on July 13, according to a press release released Friday by the Department of Taxation. This regulation will provide the structure to allow the department to determine whether there are enough liquor wholesalers to serve the marijuana distribution market.
Based on reports of adult-use marijuana sales already far exceeding the industry’s expectations at the state’s 47 licensed retail marijuana stores, and the reality that many stores are running out of inventory, the department officials say they must address the lack of distributors immediately. Some establishments report the need for delivery within the next several days.
The department stated in the press release that it will continue to work with the liquor wholesalers who have applied for distribution licenses, but most don’t yet meet the requirements that would allow them to be licensed.
"Even as we attempted to schedule the final facility inspection for one of the applicants this week, they told us their facility was not ready and declined the inspection," the press release said. "As of mid-day Friday, not one distribution license has been issued."
The business owners in this industry have invested hundreds of millions of dollars to build facilities across the state. They have hired and trained thousands of additional employees to meet the demands of the market. Unless the issue with distributor licensing is resolved quickly, the inability to deliver product to retail stores will result in many of these people losing their jobs and will bring this nascent market to a grinding halt. A halt in this market will lead to a hole in the state’s school budget.
The adoption of this regulation complies with the June 20 Court decision that requires the Department of Taxation to go through the regulatory process in Nevada Revised Statute Chapter 233B before it makes a determination about whether there are enough liquor wholesalers to serve the market as distributors.
The department is also continuing the process of asserting its rights through the Court. Late last week, the department filed an appeal of the June 20 decision with the Supreme Court of Nevada, and was granted an expedited schedule.
"We are compelled by the urgency of this issue, and are doing everything in our power to see it resolved quickly," the statement concluded.
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