Nevada: Lawmakers Send Multiple Marijuana Reform Measures to Governor’s Desk

A majority of the Nevada legislature has advanced measures amending marijuana penalties for minors, rescinding per se driving thresholds for THC, and permitting consumers to obtain cannabis products via curbside pickup.

Assembly Bill 400 amends the state’s traffic safety statutes so that the operation of a motor vehicle with trace amounts of either THC or its metabolite is no longer a per se violation of law. 

Under the state’s existing traffic safety laws, it is illegal to operate a motor vehicle with trace levels of either THC or the 11-hyrdoxy-THC metabolites in one’s blood or urine, even absent any further evidence of psychomotor impairment. The revised measure eliminates the application of those limits in certain circumstances. 

By contrast, the measure continues to allow employers to infer that an employee was impaired on the job if he or she tests positive for the presence of THC in their blood at levels of 2ng/ml or higher. 

NORML has consistently opposed the imposition of THC per se limits, opining that such thresholds are not evidence-based and that they may lead to the criminal prosecution of people who consumed cannabis several days previously but are no longer under its influence. 

Another measure approved by lawmakers, Assembly Bill 158, revises first-time penalties imposed upon minors who possess small quantities of cannabis. The proposed law reduces existing penalties — which include up to six-months in jail and a $1,000 fine — to community service. The measure also requires courts to automatically seal records for these offenses if the offender completes the term of their sentence.

Lawmakers also approved Senate Bill 168, which allows retailers to facilitate curbside pick-ups for licensed cannabis products. Allowances were initially made during the COVID019 pandemic to allow for curbside pick-up. Under the proposed law, localities can prohibit curbside sales if they so wish to do so.

All three bills now head to the desk of Democratic Governor Steve Sisolak.

Assembly lawmakers are also separately considering legislation to regulate cannabis consumption lounges.