Nevada has now legalized recreational marijuana. Dispensaries are preparing for the long lines to come on Saturday while the police reviews procedures to ensure that people do not drive under the influence of the drug.
Nevada will allow smoking pot only in private areas, including porches and home lawns. Smoking pot in public will be prohibited, including parks, casinos, concerts, and U.S. property.
Anyone over 21 with a valid ID can buy up to an ounce of pot from dispensaries, or one-eighth of an ounce in edibles. Smoking in public is worth a $600 ticket for a first offense.
Now you can legally buy weed in Las Vegas
Curiously, casinos could allow pot smoking within their premises, making it easier for tourists to consume the drug without hassle, but regulators decided not to allow this. On the other hand, dispensaries will come equipped with edibles, so there’s virtually no restriction for tourists wanting to have a pot-based vacation in Las Vegas.
Dispensaries are in malls, the Las Vegas Strip, and even next to strip clubs. Many are holding inauguration events, such as giving away marijuana to the first 100 customers and raffles to win free pot for a year. Reef Dispensaries, one block away from the Strip, will launch fireworks at midnight to celebrate the legalization of recreational marijuana.
“It changes the dynamics of what we have to enforce and what we don’t in terms of marijuana. Police officers have been told to aggressively enforce marijuana laws. Now, we’ve got to change our stance, which isn’t a big deal, it’s just a mindset shift for our personnel,” stated Deputy Reno Police Chief Tom Robinson.
Forthcoming plans include establishing locales for smoking marijuana exclusively, although efforts to enact these places failed during the lawmaking process. The proposal will be revisited in 2019.
The difference with other states with legal marijuana is that Nevada may become the greatest pot market in the U.S., according to analysts, mainly due to its constant flow of tourists. They expect at least $60 million in tax revenues within the first two years of sales, surpassing sales from Colorado, Oregon, and Washington, at least until California legalizes recreational pot too. Massachusetts and Maine are also creating new regulations after voting to legalize marijuana in November.
Arizona, New Jersey, and Michigan are also looking forward to legalizing recreational marijuana; similarly in Vermont and Rhode Island, but their lawmakers pushed back legalization for several months.
Nevada Senator Tick Segerblom will become the state’s first buyer of recreational marijuana. Segerblom served as a sponsor for the law, and will now enjoy it by visiting Reef Dispensaries at 12 a.m.
“I believe it’s very iconic to have him as the first client. He helped lead this bill. He helped push through the whole medical marijuana program through for Nevada. I don’t think we’d be where we are today at without him. So I’m more than happy to have him as our first recreational customer,” stated Matt Morgan, CEO of Reef Dispensaries.
Source: SF Gate