Nevada Measure Is First Marijuana Legalization Initiative to Qualify for 2016 Ballot

Yesterday a
Nevada initiative became the first marijuana legalization measure
to
qualify for the 2016 ballot. Nevada Secretary of State Ross
Miller said the Coalition to Regulate
Marijuana Like Alcohol had submitted more than enough valid
signatures to submit its initiative to voters in November 2016,
assuming that the state legislature does not act on the issue
before then.

Like Colorado’s Amendment 64, the Initiative
to Regulate and Tax Marijuana would make it legal for
adults 21 or older to possess up to an ounce, grow up to six plants
at home, and transfer up to ounce at a time to other adults
“without remuneration.” The initiative charges the state
Department of Taxation with licensing and regulating marijuana
producers, distributors, and retailers. It imposes a 15 percent
excise tax on the “fair market value” of marijuana sold by
growers. 

Consuming cannabis in a marijuana store, “a public place,”
or a moving vehicle would be a misdemeanor
punishable by a fine of up to $600. The initiative defines “a
public place” as “an area to which the public is
invited or in which the public is permitted
regardless of age,” which suggests that
age-restricted establishments (other than marijuana stores) could
allow cannabis consumption on their premises. That option would
distinguish Nevada from Colorado and Washington, where the rules
governing consumption outside the home
remain fuzzy.

So far voters in four states (Alaska, Colorado, Oregon,
and Washington) and the District of Columbia have approved the
legalization of marijuana for recreational use. A 2013
survey of Nevada voters by Public Policy Polling put
support for legalization of recreational marijuana at 54 percent.
Other states where voters are likely to see legalization
initiatives in 2016 include
Arizona, California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Montana.