How to License a Las Vegas Marijuana Cultivation Facility

Las Vegas Recreational Dispensary Grower Liscensing
Nevada’s Department of Taxation licenses and regulates retail marijuana establishments within the state. Starting July of 2017, the department will also take charge of Las Vegas Nevada’s medical marijuana businesses.

The Types of Licenses

You can receive five types of retail marijuana licenses in Nevada:

  • Distributor: Distributors can carry marijuana from one establishment to another. For example, a legal distributor can carry marijuana from a cultivation area to a retail location.
  • Cultivation Facility: Cultivation facilities can process, grow, and package any amount of marijuana. They can also get marijuana tested at a facility, sell marijuana to retail locations, to manufacturers, and to cultivation facilities. A cultivation facility cannot sell marijuana directly to consumers.
  • Testing Facility: They can test marijuana and its related products. These facilities can test for contaminants and potency.
  • Product Manufacturing Facility: They can purchase, process, package, and manufacture marijuana and its related products. Manufacturing facilities can also sell marijuana and its related products to other manufacturing facilities as well as retail outlets. However, product manufacturing facilities cannot sell directly to the consumer. Some marijuana-related products include edibles, tinctures, and ointments.
  • Retail locations: Stores can purchase marijuana products from cultivation facilities, marijuana, and its related products from marijuana manufacturing facilities, and marijuana from retail stores. Unlike the other four licenses, businesses with a retail license can sell directly to the consumer.

The Early Start Program

In May of 2017, the Department took applications for an “early start” program that was to run from July through December 2017. To become eligible for a retail license, applicants had to present themselves as medical marijuana certificate holders that remained in “good standing” throughout the application process. However, those applying for the distributor license got exempt from this requirement as the distributor role became a new part of the retail license program.

The Regular Program

The regular retail marijuana application process will start in the first months of 2018. For the first 18 months of the process, the Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act states that only those applicants with a medical marijuana establishment certificate can receive a retail license.

In November 2018, the retail license application program will open for applicants who do not currently hold a medical marijuana certificate. To get notified when the Department starts accepting applications, you can go to the Stay Informed page and sign up with your email address. On the page, you’ll find the regulations that will help you maneuver the application process.

The regular program will get overseen by permanent regulations, which the Department created. To learn more about the retail marijuana process, including how to comment on the regulations before they officially get adopted, go to the Public Meeting Notices on this site.

How to Apply

When the retail and recreational marijuana dispensary application process begins, you can find out more at the Department’s Marijuana License Applications page.