Nevada marijuana task force kicks off with plenty to do in a short time

By COLTON LOCHHEAD LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

8 years ago

Attendees page through paperwork during the first of Nevada’s marijuana implementation task force meetings at Grant Sawyer Office Building on Friday, March 3, 2017, in Las Vegas. (Bridget Bennett/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @bridgetkbennett

Patient and advocate for medicinal marijuana Mona Lisa Samuelson gives a personal statement at the beginning of the first of Nevada’s marijuana implementation task force meetings at Grant Sawyer Office Building on Friday, March 3, 2017, in Las Vegas. (Bridget Bennett/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @bridgetkbennett

Attendees gather for the the first Nevada’s marijuana implementation task force meeting at Grant Sawyer Office Building on Friday, March 3, 2017, in Las Vegas. (Bridget Bennett/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @bridgetkbennett

Patient and advocate for medicinal marijuana takes notes during the first Nevada’s marijuana implementation task force meeting at Grant Sawyer Office Building on Friday, March 3, 2017, in Las Vegas.(Bridget Bennett/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @bridgetkbennett

John Ritter, left, and Michael Pawlak, right, listen in during the first Nevada’s marijuana implementation task force meeting at Grant Sawyer Office Building on Friday, March 3, 2017, in Las Vegas. (Bridget Bennett/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @bridgetkbennett

The state on Friday took the first step in figuring how Nevada will regulate recreational marijuana.

The 19-member Marijuana Task Force, made up of state lawmakers, medical marijuana industry representatives and state and local officials, has three months to dig into the biggest issues surrounding regulated recreational marijuana sales.

Those include regulations of cannabis sales and production, how police should deal with public consumption and how the state plans to keep the products away from children.

State Sen. Tick Segerblom stressed during Friday’s first meeting of Gov. Brian Sandoval’s task force that it should not procrastinate in sending those recommendations to lawmakers.

The Nevada Legislature ends just one week after the panel’s due date. Adding on to that time crunch, the state says it plans to allow a limited, temporary rollout of recreational sales starting July 1.

To craft those recommendations, the panel will break into working groups over the next three months to tackle eight key areas.

Each group will be headed by task force members and will also consist of members of the public who wish to participate in the process. Group members will be chosen and assigned the week of March 6, and those groups will begin on March 20.

Those interested in joining a working group can email the Nevada tax department at marijuana@tax.state.nv.us.

Contact Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638. Follow @ColtonLochhead on Twitter.