Marijuana is on a lot of minds, from smokers to dispensary owners and even lawmakers. Everyone is watching what happens in Nevada come November, but one opinion issued from one person could send a lot of profit up in smoke.
On July 26, Nevada's attorney general issued a written opinion to the Department of Health and Human Services stating that dispensaries should not serve Californians if all they have is a doctor's referral. The message is black and white on the first page of the document.
It reads, "A recommendation from a California physician cannot be used to obtain medical marijuana from a Nevada dispensary."
Dispensary owner Andrew Jolley says that's exactly what a lot of customers have rather than a state-issued medical identification card.
For nearly a year, Jolley has been serving Californians at his dispensary called The Source.
"Those people need access to their medicines," said Jolley.
Jolley, who also serves as president of the Nevada Dispensary Association, says patients from California are responsible for nearly half the sales that Nevada dispensaries see.
"I estimate that there are over 350,000 California medical marijuana patients annually," he says. "They'll have to make that terrible decision of buying from the black market."
He plans to meet with officials on Thursday to find out what he can do to stop the attorney general's recommendation from giving birth to a new law.
