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1 year later: Good and bad of pot legalization

1 year later: Good and bad of pot legalization
Posted at 7:00 AM, Jun 29, 2018
and last updated 2018-06-29 11:20:40-04

This weekend marks one year since the legalization of recreational marijuana in Nevada and some people are feeling frustrated with where the profits are going.

There are three significant concerns people expressed to 13 Action News: people driving high, the putrid smell of pot in the valley, and schools not getting the marijuana money they were promised.

RELATED ARTICLE: Questions raised about marijuana revenues

"If it goes to the school district I doubt the students or teachers are going to see any of it... There were a couple of years in lab science classes that my daughter didn't even do labs because they didn't have the money," said Rebecca Stricklin, a mother.

Chief Investigator Darcy Spears looked into schools getting pot money. The Clark County School district said much of the marijuana money went to help students. CCSD said they haven't been able to use the funds to cover employee costs, which is their single most significant expense. They told legislators they need to fix that in the 2019 session.

The latest marijuana revenue statistics from the State of Nevada Department of Taxation show marijuana tax revenues totaled more than $55 million through April 2018. Nevada has already exceeded estimates for pot tax revenue for the entire 2018 fiscal year.

The Las Vegas Justice Court reports 54 cases of people doing marijuana in a public place or a moving car since last year.

"That's what gets me: people driving high. It's bad enough they text. When they drive high that's even worse," said William Dalton, a southern Nevada driver.

So far March 2018 was the largest month for marijuana tax revenue.