Nevada tax director: Distribution battle diverting weed buyers back to black market
Published: Aug 17, 2017, 8:11 am • Updated: Aug 17, 2017, 8:34 am
By Scott Sonner, Associated Press
CARSON CITY, Nev. — Nevada’s marijuana regulators are headed back to court in a turf battle with liquor wholesalers over exclusive rights to distribute cannabis products to the state’s new recreational retailers.
Nevada’s Taxation Department says the protracted legal fight has created a delivery bottleneck that’s undermining an otherwise robust marijuana industry and the state revenue that comes with it.
Legal sales started with a bang July 1. But Tax Director Deonne Contine says the tiny distribution network’s inability to keep pace with demand is forcing up prices and sending buyers back to the black market.
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She says it’s also jeopardizing worker safety at dispensaries forced to stockpile supplies and huge amounts of cash to accommodate erratic deliveries.
A Carson City judge plans to hear her request Thursday to lift the latest injunction blocking licenses for anyone other than alcohol distributors.
Topics: courts, marijuana distribution, Nevada
