By Nick Larson
Recreational Marijuana is officially planned to hit the market on July 1st. This means that dispensaries will be able to legally sell cannabis to adults over the age of 21. However, the city of Reno recently held a public hearing at City Hall to discuss a possible moratorium on recreational marijuana.
Code Enforcement Manager Alex Woodley is proposing the moratorium, with the objective to provide Reno with more time to organize and prepare for recreational marijuana. According to the Reno Gazette Journal, Woodley says, “From the city’s perspective, we have a shared responsibility to err on the side of caution.”
The moratorium Woodley is suggesting would put a six-month delay on when dispensaries can legally sell marijuana to non-card holders over 21 years of age. This would potentially allow the city of Reno to figure out factors such as state regulations, license requirements, and local zoning.
This might come as a surprise to medical marijuana dispensaries already in Reno, such as Sierra Wellness Center. Manager Bobbie Macfarlane discusses what their business is currently doing to gear up for recreational sales. Macfarlane says, “We have been hiring people to work up there (production facilities) and also people for the dispensary, so I feel like as a company we are expanding a lot, not just in preparation for recreational, but we are obviously pretty excited about that. So it will be a big change.”
Recreational marijuana is new and unfamiliar territory for the city of Reno. Even for Sierra Wellness Center, which was the first marijuana dispensary to open in Reno close to two years age. Macfarlane explains what the current state is within the marijuana community. Macfarlane says, “Right now its effecting it because it has everyone kind of running around trying to figure out what’s actually going to happen.”
The state of Nevada legalized recreational marijuana on the November 8th, 2016 ballot. Voters approved Question 2 by 54.4%. This allows for individuals 21 and over to use recreational marijuana. However, businesses cannot legally sell any products until July 1st. The proposed moratorium would add on another six months.
Wednesdays City Hall meeting concluded that the moratorium would not be enforced. However, the Reno city council will revisit this proposal on the scheduled date of May 10th. The city hopes that this will be enough time for the Department of Taxation to figure out appropriate regulations.
The proposed moratorium is a huge disappointment for marijuana establishments already in business. Dispensary Representatives aggressively opposed and argued against this at the public hearing.
Mikel Alvarez represented Blüm, which is located in Reno’s midtown district. He stressed to the city council his concerns about how this can potentially stall marijuana business in Reno. Recreational means more customers, which means an increased demand for employees. However, the hiring process for this field is more complicated than your typical business. Alvarez states that this process takes around two months to be completed. “If I’m going to be ready for July 1st, I got to start the process of hiring next week,” Alvarez said.
Although Blüm is currently just a medical marijuana dispensary, they are waiting for the legalization of recreational usage. Alvarez says, “When I built my business in Reno, my anticipation was to always have recreational sales, so I’m already geared up for it.”
Despite the moratorium being rejected, there is still a possibility for recreational marijuana to be put on hold. It has the entire dispensary industry in Reno very frustrated and uncertain about the future. Question 2 was passed in 2016. This means that the city of Reno had close to six months to plan for recreational marijuana. This is the reason for a lot of the frustration coming out of the cannabis community. Alvarez says, “No this is not acceptable. You guys have known about since Nov. 8th that recreation is coming.”
Reno could very well be falling into the footsteps of other cities that have legalized recreational marijuana. Pat Hickey is a former member of the Nevada State Legislator and currently on the Nevada Board of Education. With a long track record of speaking out against legalizing marijuana, Hickey has concerns about Reno’s readiness to tackle this new issue. Hickey says, “Reno can look to and learn from Denver.”
Denver possesses the highest density of marijuana retail stores in the state of Colorado. With 11 recreational specific stores and 71 medicinal only dispensaries, Denver is definitely familiar with the process Reno is currently engaged in. On the other hand, Washoe County currently only has 9 dispensaries open for business.
There is a great amount of pressure on the city of Reno from the cannabis community. Dispensaries want to make money now, which was expressed at Wednesdays City Hall hearing. Hickey expresses concern about Reno rushing into this. Hickey says, “You only get one crack at doing it right, and I would hope the city does everything it can.”
Clearly not everyone in the city of Reno is on the same page right now. There seems to be a massive cloud of confusion hanging over the future of recreational marijuana. Hickey suggests that the city better communicate with its public. He says, “Inviting a larger community to have input so that our regulations are as appropriate and successful as they possibly can be.”
John Tillis, a 21-year-old native Reno resident wants to feel more involved in what the community is doing about recreational marijuana. John says, “It doesn’t seem like that public has too much power or say on what is being done for recreational marijuana.”
Although rejected, the proposed moratorium will be revisited by city council on May 10th. Reno will attempt to get organized before then. As of right now, the cannabis community, city government, and public all seem to be on a different page. The success of recreational marijuana in Reno relies on the cooperation of the entire community.
Nicholas Larson 