Nevada Medical Marijuana Law & Regulations

In November 2000, 65% of Nevada voters approved Question 9, amending the state constitution to allow the use of medical marijuana in Nevada. Nevada’s medical marijuana law took effect in 2001, when the state instituted the Nevada Medical Marijuana Program. It allows attending physicians to recommend the use of cannabis for patients with a variety of qualifying medical conditions, providing legal protection for patients and primary caregivers who grow 12 plants or less, depending on certain limitations if patients have reasonable access to an operating dispensary, and possess no more than 2 ½ ounces of cannabis in a single 14-day period. Designated primary caregivers and medical marijuana establishments with approval from the Department of Health and Human Services are also protected under the law.

In June 2013, Senate Bill 374 was signed to provide for medical marijuana establishments including cultivation, production, dispensaries and laboratories as regulated by the Department of Health and Human Services. As part of this bill, if a dispensary opens in a patient’s county of residence, home cultivation will be largely prohibited unless warranted by a specific legal exception. The first certified medical marijuana establishments were certified in March 2015, and the first medical marijuana dispensary opened in August 2015.

In April 2014, Senate Bill 374 was enacted, establishing a statewide medical cannabis distribution program. The law allows for the creation of up to 66 dispensaries and 200 production facilities, regulated by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). As of January 2017, 56 dispensaries are open serving patients.

The law also restricted a patient’s ability to cultivate medical cannabis to rare exceptions but increased patient possession limits, created a reciprocity program that allows out-of-state registered patients to register in Nevada with dispensaries and grants the right to purchase medication, and capped the cost of patient registry cards at $100. In 2016, DHHS put the patient applications online and begin issuing temporary cards allowing patients to enroll and access medicine more quickly.