After a tumultuous round of dispensary licensing in 2018 brought uncertainty and infighting to the state’s nascent cannabis industry, the Cannabis Compliance Board (CCB) assumed the marijuana regulatory reins in 2020, cracking down on bad actors and providing specialized regulation that brought stability to the industry ahead of the 2021 legislative session.
From that baseline, lawmakers took a major step this session to expand and diversify the industry’s disproportionately white and male ownership and also provide tourists with a place to legally consume marijuana by creating a new license type for cannabis consumption lounges. They also approved a slew of other changes — including allowing permanent curbside pickup, revising how law enforcement determines whether someone is driving under the influence of marijuana and changing product labeling — built from lessons learned in the eight years since the state first authorized marijuana dispensaries.
“It’s been a long journey from where we started, really, in the 2013 session and then launching dispensaries, so it’s really nice to see how the industry has matured,” said Assemblyman Steve Yeager (D-Las Vegas). “The legislation that we see this session is really in recognition that we’ve primarily done things right and to try to take that next step.”
