Pubdate: Wed, 04 Sep 2013
Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal (NV)
Copyright: 2013 Las Vegas Review-Journal
Website: http://www.lvrj.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/233
Author: Adam Kealoha Causey
Page: B1

MARIJUANA BUSINESS LICENSING POSTPONED

Mayor Goodman Wants to Ensure Quality of Cannabis

If Las Vegas is going to allow medical marijuana sales, Mayor Carolyn
Goodman's chief concern is ensuring patients who need it get access to
quality cannabis.

Guaranteeing that could mean dispensaries should operate as
nonprofits, Goodman said Tuesday during a City Council public hearing
on how the businesses may operate locally. If one location can't
charge more than the other, all strains should be equal.

"They should not have to shop around," Goodman said about Las Vegans
who have a doctor's permission to use marijuana in place of
manufactured medicine.

By the end of the meeting, nothing was decided on business models for
marijuana enterprises. Instead, a committee approved a proposal that,
if passed by the full council, would put a six-month moratorium on
business license applications.

The law would extend the current halt on land use, business license or
building permit applications for marijuana businesses. And that left
plenty of questions from City Council members and advocates of
medicinal use of the pungent plant.

The moratorium is scheduled for a vote by the full council Sept.
18.

Proponents of the prolonged delay, including bill author and Mayor Pro
Tem Stavros Anthony, said it will give Las Vegas time to create its
own rules to work with forthcoming state regulations, expected by the
end of the year. Opponents say the issue already has been deferred by
more than a decade and is only hurting those already in physical pain
and crminialized for using a natural remedy.

Stark contrasts in how or whether to implement state law show that
some taboos are hard to get around even in a city adept at marketing
its vices.

Goodman's nonprofit approach didn't fly with many in the group of 30
or so who showed up at City Hall to speak or listen. Adam Sternberg,
of medical cannabis consulting group Compassion Nevada, said big
pharmaceutical companies don't consider their work
philanthropic.

"They're in it for profit as it is now," Sternberg said. "We're also
in it for creating jobs and income for the citizens of the state."

The City Council recommending committee's process was informative,
Anthony said, because he got to hear from folks who are closest to the
debate, including cancer patients. So far, he said, big businesses and
lobbyists have been working hard to bend his ear. Anthony said he
hopes Nevada will serve as a model for other states when it comes to
handling medical marijuana.

"I don't know how this is going to shake out," Anthony said. "I want
to take the time to make sure we do this right."

Government may be moving slowly, but a community of patients and
potential growers already has a network and plan in place, according
to Vicki Higgins, who spoke on behalf of WECAN: Wellness Education
Cannabis Advocates of Nevada. She said the city should proceed with
licensing now because they won't be able to accommodate the coming
demand on the first day they open up shop.

The life cycle of a plant is about three months, Higgins said, then it
must be dried. Many think that means just for smoking, but it can be
made into lotion or oil to sooth pain. Besides local patients, Sin
City visitors licensed in other locales that allow medicinal marijuana
use will seek herbal remedies here. WECAN also has plans for on-site
security as well as transportation.

"We can have things up and running by the first of the year if need
be," said Higgins, who said she received a medical marijuana
prescription after having brain surgery for a condition that caused
chronic migraines.

State law, signed by Gov. Brian Sandoval in June, will allow for as
many as 40 marijuana dispensaries and farms in Clark County. Nevada
voters approved in 2000 a constitutional amendment to allow patients
to use marijuana with a doctor's approval. They had to grow the
marijuana themselves, but in 2012 Clark County District Judge Donald
Mosley declared the law unconstitutional because it did not provide a
legal way for some patients to acquire marijuana.

Nevada is home to about 3,800 patients who use the weed medicinally.
Federal law still makes marijuana possession a crime, but the
Department of Justice has said it will steer away from using its
resources for enforcement regarding the seriously ill.

Councilman Bob Coffin said there are many overarching issues that must
be considered in bringing legal marijuana sales to Las Vegas -
including whether it should happen at all. Coffin proposed one change
to Anthony's bill.

Initially, Anthony's proposal would have allowed the council to tack
on another six months to the moratorium without jumping through its
usual number of hoops with multiple readings. Coffin said half a year
should be enough time, and Anthony and Goldman voted in favor of his
change, making it unanimous decision by the three-member committee.

"This would push us to make a decision," Coffin said.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Matt