Clark County marijuana fees to ‘rectify injustices’

Nearly $6 million could be available to Clark County this fiscal year in part to assist those adversely affected by marijuana laws and to combat unlicensed marijuana sales.

To fund such programs, county lawmakers will tap into a relevant revenue stream: Marijuana business licensing fees.

The county commission on Tuesday unanimously agreed to allocate any revenue greater than $12 million each year to social programs including immigration defense, an effort driven by Commissioners Tick Segerblom and William McCurdy II.

“This really is a — I won’t say, ‘revolutionary’ — but a really exciting step forward as far as using our tax money to rectify injustices which have been enacted because of cannabis being illegal over the years,” Segerblom said.

The two lawmakers said they will be looking to the community for guidance on how exactly funds should be spent.

In January 2019, the commission voted to direct up to $12 million in marijuana licensing fees each year to homelessness programs. The county is estimating it will collect about $18 million in fees this fiscal year.

Contact Shea Johnson at sjohnson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272. Follow @Shea_LVRJ on Twitter.