Policy Recommendations Nevada

2019-2020 Improvements and Recommendations for Nevada

Attention to emergency measures related to COVID left little room for consideration of new medical cannabis legislation in 2020. However several expanded access features were authorized in Nevada's response to COVID, including continuing delivery of medical cannabis as well as allowing for curbside pickup, and allowing for patients to secure eligibility via telehealth visits with their physicians rather than in-person visits. Following the trend of many states that began with a medical model and later layered on adult-use access, Nevada's patient population has declined since our last report. In other state cannabis policy reform news, Nevada's State Board of Pardons Commissioners, chaired by Governor Sisolak, voted to pardon more than 15,000 individuals convicted of possession of one ounce or less between 1986 and 2017.

In 2021, ASA encourages Nevada lawmakers to review existing legal protections the state extends to medical cannabis patients and expand these provisions to cover parental and housing protections. ASA also encourages Nevada to add chronic pain to its list of qualifying conditions, as the Centers for Disease Control estimates that at least 20 percent of adults in the U.S. experience chronic pain.