In 2024, Nevada’s cannabis industry experienced several shifts in market dynamics, many of which were a direct result of the cannabis-related legislation introduced and adopted during Nevada’s 82nd Legislative Session in 2023.
Click here to view full list of cannabis-related milestones in 2024
In preparation for Nevada’s 83rd Legislative Session, The Chamber launched a four-part Innovation Lab in July 2024 with the goal of empowering its members to contribute to the future of Nevada’s legal cannabis industry by directly shaping The Chamber’s legislative priorities in 2025.
Building on the foundation of its prior legislative and regulatory successes, and with the business interests of its members guiding these efforts, the Chamber of Cannabis is pleased to introduce its four legislative focuses for Nevada’s 83rd Legislative Session.
While existing law does not define or prescribe separate categories of agent cards, the Cannabis Compliance Board has adopted Nevada Cannabis Compliance Regulation (NCCR) 5.150, requiring a single individual to apply for each category of agent card. There are currently eight categories of agent cards in the state of Nevada.
This dynamic limits an employer’s hiring capabilities, discourages cross-training, and prevents agent card holders from gaining a comprehensive understanding of the supply chain without taking on a significant expense. At an average hourly rate of $14.06/hour, cannabis establishment agents must give up more than a day’s worth of wages for each card application they submit to the CCB.
Nevada’s cannabis industry cannot expect to attract and retain talent if many of our neighboring states do not subject their agents to this redundant and costly practice. Examples of states with something resembling a universal agent card include: Oregon, Colorado, and Arizona.
According to the CCB’s Annual Demographic Study, the number of individuals with active cannabis establishment agent cards fell by 20% between December 2022 and December 2024. As a result, cannabis businesses are forced to hire from within an increasingly limited talent pool.
The Chamber of Cannabis seeks to modify Nevada Revised Statute so that all cannabis establishment agent cards authorize an employee, volunteer, contractor, or employee of an independent contractor to provide labor to any licensed cannabis establishment in this State regardless of the license type of the establishment.
To offset any budget deficit that would occur from eliminating the need for a single individual to obtain multiple agent registration cards, the Chamber proposes the introduction of a separate, higher fee for cannabis establishment executives.
Last legislative session, Senate Bill 277 introduced provisions to Nevada Revised Statute (NRS) relating to the daily quantity of usable cannabis AND concentrated cannabis that can be sold in a single transaction (NRS 678B.550), increasing usable cannabis to 2.5 ounces and concentrated cannabis to 1/4 ounce.
Today, the maximum amount of cannabis that can be sold in a single package remains at 1 ounce of usable cannabis and 1/8 ounce of concentrated cannabis (NRS 678D.420). For adult-use cannabis products that are not edibles, a single package may not contain more than 800 milligrams of THC per package.
The Chamber of Cannabis is seeking increased limits for single packages of cannabis products that correspond with the increase in purchase limits enacted with Senate Bill 277 and that are competitive with other state markets.
Assembly Bill 76 was prefiled on behalf of the Cannabis Compliance Board on November 20, 2024. Section 48 of this proposed legislation introduces revisions to NRS 678D.420(2), increasing the maximum allowable THC per package from 800 milligrams to 1,000 milligrams and appropriately increasing packaging limits for usable cannabis products (flower) to 2.5 ounces.
The Chamber of Cannabis urges the legislature to refrain from implicitly categorizing concentrate under “any other adult-use cannabis product” in NRS 678D.420(2)(g). There is no justifiable explanation for limiting a single package of concentrated cannabis to 1,000 milligrams of THC when the daily purchase limit for concentrated cannabis products is 7,087 milligrams (7.09 grams = ¼ ounce) by weight.
While an increase to 1,000 milligrams is an improvement for most categories of cannabis products, the Chamber of Cannabis is in support of increasing the limit to 3,500 milligrams of THC in NRS 678D.420(2)(b)(c)(e-g).
Finally, as it pertains to NRS 678D.420, the Chamber of Cannabis suggests additional specificity regarding the transaction type by including “to consumers” in Section 2 to provide greater flexibility for packaging requirements for products that are sold to licensed cannabis consumption lounge establishments.
Between July 1, 2020 – June 30, 2024, the State of Nevada collected more than $563 million in cannabis-related excise taxes from the $3.65 billion in taxable cannabis sales that took place in the same time period. It is the public policy of the State legislature that the cannabis industry is significant to the economy of the State of Nevada.
While the economic significance of the cannabis industry is often reduced to the amount of tax revenue that it generates, by failing to account for other economic factors at play, policymakers run the risk of inadvertently limiting the economic potential of the industry by prioritizing tax revenue over the economics of supply and demand, particularly as it pertains to unlicensed cannabis activities.
Senate Bill 41 was filed by the Committee on Revenue and Economic Development on behalf of the Department of Taxation. As introduced, the bill proposes a new cannabis tax permit requirement that applies to each individual place of business for all cannabis establishments.
In addition to outlining the application process and permit issuance, SB 41 empowers the Department of Taxation (DOT) to revoke or suspend cannabis tax permits. If a cannabis tax permit is revoked by the DOT, it mandates the Cannabis Compliance Board (CCB) to suspend the corresponding cannabis business license until tax liabilities are fully settled.
In developing its position on Senate Bill 41, the Chamber of Cannabis will explore the viability of alternate solutions that encourage the timely payment of taxes without resulting in a license suspension for a first offense.
It is worth noting that, in June 2024, the CCB voted to approve changes that would consider failure to pay taxes as the least severe category of violation, Category VII (NCCR 4.061) instead of its current classification of Category III (NCCR 4.040).
While the NCCRs adopted by the CCB have not yet been approved by the Legislative Counsel Bureau, as adopted by the CCB, Category VII violations involve two formal written warnings before a $1,500 fine is issued on the third violation.
In a study conducted by the Tax Policy Center of the Urban Institute & Brookings Institution examining tax structures in 19 states, Nevada’s total effective tax paid on a hypothetical purchase of an ounce of usable cannabis (cannabis flower) is the 5th highest.
The Chamber of Cannabis will oppose any legislation that involves an increase in the rate of taxation of cannabis during Nevada’s 83rd Legislative Session.
As it stands, the State of Nevada is one of only three states that charge an excise tax on both the retail price (10%) and the wholesale weight (15%).
Understanding the State’s need for a taxable event with transfers and sales within a vertically integrated business, the practice of creating an artificial price instead of levying a tax rate on the weight of the cannabis plant or the actual value requires significant administrative resources.
If introduced, the Chamber of Cannabis will support provisions that remove fair market value altogether.
The passage of Assembly Bill 341 in 2021 defined Social Equity Applicant (NRS 678B.065) in the context of the issuance or renewal of an independent cannabis consumption lounge license and authorizes the Board to establish reduced fees for these applicants (NRS 678B.390).
In 2023, Senate Bill 328 updated NRS 678.005 to specify that cannabis licenses and registration cards are “issued with a commitment to the consideration of social equity”, as part of the State’s public policy regarding the continued growth and success of the cannabis industry.
Without downplaying the significance of these critical steps to address the adverse effects of previous laws criminalizing cannabis, there is no statutory or regulatory framework in place for demonstrating this commitment.
The considerations that do exist are remarkably narrow – not only when comparing the applicant criteria established by the Nevada CCB to other states, like Illinois’ DCEO, or Colorado’s MED, but also as it pertains to the considerations they receive.
In an analysis of ten specific social equity policy variables across 18 states from The Network for Public Health Law, Nevada is one of just 6 states with no training services available to social equity license holders. Nevada’s reduced licensing fee is considered a financial service in the analysis from the NPHL but pails in comparison to the financial services available in states like Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, etc;.
Senate Bill 328 also added provisions to NRS 678A.450 instructing the Cannabis Compliance Board to adopt regulations for the investigation and imposition of penalties against entities involved in unlicensed cannabis activities.
If the provisions of Section 10 in Assembly Bill 76 are adopted this session, the CCB will have the authority to carry out the investigation and imposition of fees for unlicensed activities as intended with SB 328.
Neither SB 328 nor AB 76 specify where excess penalties collected from the enforcement of unlicensed activities must be deposited.
As such, and in alignment with the public policy of the state, we are asking that Section 3 of Chapter 450 of NRS 678A be revised so that excess revenue generated from the enforcement of unlicensed activities is set aside to support the state’s commitment to social equity with the creation of a Cannabis Fund.
It is well understood that the criminalization of cannabis has disproportionately impacted people of color across the United States. A report from the American Civil Liberties Union shows that, even after adult-use cannabis was legalized in Nevada, Black Nevadans remain three (3) times more likely to be arrested for cannabis possession than white Nevadans. Yet, as it stands, 75% of all cannabis owners in Nevada are white – while just 45.4% of Nevada’s population is white.
The lack of racial representation in ownership and executives within Nevada’s legal cannabis industry, combined with the limited scope of consideration of social equity in relation to other states, calls the State’s adherence to its own public policies into question.
The establishment of a Cannabis Fund will ensure the holders of cannabis licenses are truly representative of their communities by extending additional financial support to the communities negatively impacted by the State’s previous cannabis policies.
By using penalties from the enforcement of unlicensed activities to support the success of licensed operators, Nevada will align the current market reality with the policy of the State while also actively working to reduce the number of unlicensed sales channels that detract from taxable cannabis sales.
The Chamber envisions a world where cannabis is a cornerstone of a thriving, equitable and sustainable society, but we are not wearing rose-colored glasses – Nevada’s cannabis industry has a long road ahead and, like the streets of Las Vegas, the road is constantly under construction.
The only way to make progress is to get started. Together.
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