Today Nevada’s Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to approve a measuring legalizing for-profit dispensaries in the state, which would dispense medical marijuana to qualified patients. The bill now heads towards a full Senate vote.

In Nevada, possessing medical marijuana, if you’re a qualified patient, is a constitutional right, approved by voters in 2000. However, the law doesn’t allow for any safe access points for patients to obtain their medicine, which has prompted the ACLU to file a legal brief claiming that Nevadans have a constitutional right to safe access.

If passed, Senate Bill 374 would finally provide patients in the state with a legal method of purchasing their medicine. Licensing and regulations would be handled by the state’s Health Division.

Partially based on the fact that the measure allows for-profit outlets, the licensing fee will be $20,000, with a $5,000 renewal – clearly a large sum, but undoubtedly workable for many groups.

Patients and advocates in Nevada should be on the phone with, and writing letters to, lawmakers in Nevada, urging them to support Senate Bill 374, to allow patients safe access to their medicine.

– TheJointBlog