Pubdate: Mon, 28 Apr 2014
Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal (NV)
Copyright: 2014 Las Vegas Review-Journal
Contact: http://www.reviewjournal.com/about/print/press/letterstoeditor.html
Website: http://www.lvrj.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/233

POPULARITY OF POT

Marijuana on Path to Full Legalization

Marijuana has gone mainstream. That's the lesson we can take from the 
outpouring of interest in medical marijuana businesses seen by Clark 
County last week. A total of 206 proposals were entered by 109 
different companies for everything from dispensaries to grow houses 
to testing labs.

We'll no doubt see similar interest in the cities of Las Vegas and 
North Las Vegas, which are also preparing to allow medical marijuana 
businesses within their jurisdictions. North Las Vegas, especially, 
could use the tax revenue such businesses would bring to the strapped 
city's coffers.

Research guru Jeremy Aguero has declared a "gold rush" on medical pot 
licenses, which just two years ago were not even on the radar screen. 
Although voters legalized medical marijuana in 2000 - and commanded 
the Legislature to provide a way for patients to access the drug - 
the issue was essentially ignored until the 2013 Legislature, when 
lawmakers finally authorized dispensaries. Up to 40 will be allowed 
across Southern Nevada.

Now lawyers, lobbyists, trade groups and business people are all 
about medical marijuana. And local governments - which were given an 
unusual amount of control over the businesses in the state 
legislation - are mostly willing to accommodate the commerce. (The 
Henderson and Boulder City councils have thus far declined to 
participate, which is their right under state law.)

In part, the new attitude reflects a national shift in the perception 
of marijuana. Although the drug remains illegal under federal law 
(wrongly classified as one that has no medical value and is highly 
addictive), enforcement against medical users, especially, is waning. 
The Justice Department has said it won't prioritize enforcement 
against prescription-holding users, and new federal clemency 
standards are making it easier for nonviolent drug offenders to seek 
pardons for their offenses.

And while 20 states and the District of Columbia have legalized 
medical marijuana, two states - Washington and Colorado - have 
legalized recreational use outright. In Nevada, legalization 
proponents last week filed a petition that may come before the 2015 
Legislature - or, more likely, voters in 2016 - to fully legalize the 
drug here. The revenue from marijuana sales would bolster government 
budgets without the additional burdens of increases in sales or 
property taxes, provided officials avoid steep, marijuana-specific 
levies that guarantee a prosperous black market and keep street 
dealers in business.

If there's any criticism of the new Nevada medical marijuana regime, 
it's that local governments are being awfully detailed in regulating 
the businesses. There's a bright line between haphazard rules that 
would create little Amsterdams in strip malls and regulations that 
greatly add to the cost of a medicine that, for many patients, is the 
only relief possible for pain, complications from cancer therapy and 
other ailments. Local officials need to keep that in mind when 
reviewing applications.

But after so many years of inaction, it's good to see most local 
officials responding to the will of the public and a legitimate 
medical need in the community. The interest we've seen thus far shows 
there's money to be made, both for entrepreneurs and for the state. 
And it's wonderful news for patients who've waited far too long for relief.

Marijuana is mainstream, and there's no turning back.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom