EDITORIAL: Finally, a new kind of pharmacy

Tuesday was another typical August day in Southern Nevada. Today will bring more of the same. Tomorrow as well. And that’s big news considering Clark County’s first marijuana dispensary opened for business Monday. Legal retail sales of pot commenced, and the world didn’t end.

But some very sick Nevadans finally got the prescribed medicine they’ve waited years to try.

As reported by the Review-Journal’s Eric Hartley, Euphoria Wellness opened its doors at 7780 S. Jones Blvd., about six months after it was initially prepared to do so. The business was put through the regulatory wringer by Clark County. Companies small and large deal with costly, inspection-caused delays, but what Euphoria Wellness encountered seemed unusually harsh and reminiscent of drug war alarmism.

The state’s first dispensary opened in Sparks on July 31 by selling products derived from plants grown by patients, which is allowed under state law to get the industry up and running. Euphoria Wellness wanted to purchase its first stock from patients, as well, but the county refused to allow it. So the first medical marijuana sold Monday was commercially grown. The dispensary has just six strains in stock and is limiting sales to a half-ounce per person until more crops are ready.

More than 6,000 registered medical marijuana patients live in Clark County. There still isn’t enough supply for all of them. And considering Nevada dispensaries are allowed to sell to registered marijuana patients from other states, buyers can expect a limited supply for the near future.

Euphoria customers came, bought their prescriptions and left. No reefer madness was reported.

It’s worth remembering that voters first authorized medical marijuana in Nevada in 2000, that state lawmakers allowed the creation of retail dispensaries in 2013, and that Nevada voters are likely to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in next year’s elections. Eventually, the county is supposed to have 40 dispensaries — assuming they’re allowed to open. Public opinion about the threat that marijuana poses to civil order has shifted dramatically over the years. Local governments’ approach to the marijuana industry should reflect as much going forward.