The Nevada Supreme Court has reversed a lower court ruling that found the inclusion of cannabis as a Schedule I Controlled Substance violated the Nevada Constitution.
The ACLU of Nevada took the Board of Pharmacy to court to change its classification arguing that Schedule 1 is a category reserved for substances that have no medical purpose and cannot be safely distributed.
ACLU of Nevada Executive Director Athar Haseebullah released this statement:
“The Nevada Supreme Court’s procedural decision that unconstitutional criminal policies like the one here can only be raised during a criminal case doesn’t actually resolve this constitutional controversy and doesn’t advance justice for all. We have tremendous respect for the Nevada Supreme Court, but while cannabis corporations rake in hundreds of millions of dollars in profits, ordinary Nevadans like Mr. Poole could face potential felony-level prosecution for possessing cannabis. Until this Court issues a decision on the merits, the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy’s out-of-touch scheduling scheme will continue to list cannabis as a more serious substance than fentanyl and methamphetamine, and this scheduling loophole allows district attorneys’ offices throughout Nevada to prosecute cannabis possession under state law, a direct contradiction of the voters’ will and the Nevada Constitution’s explicit recognition of cannabis’ medicinal value.
“This issue isn’t going away. We’re grateful to see the U.S. government is attempting to shift cannabis out of the federal Schedule I list as requested by a bipartisan majority of Nevada legislators in 2023. We’ve provided a clear blueprint to challenge this egregious loophole within criminal cases, and we look forward to working with the legal community to ensure the Supreme Court issues a ruling on the merits on an issue of this magnitude.”
SEPTEMBER 19, 2022:
We told you last week how a Nevada judge ruled that classifying marijuana as a Schedule 1 substance went against the state’s constitution. Now we’re learning new details about why that is.
“The big thing is that it resolved inconsistency under law. The idea when we go all the way back 20 years… there was a big shift in the way our state viewed cannabis. Viewed marijuana. It recognized it had medical value where before it didn’t have medical value. The law didn’t recognize that.”
We talked to the ACLU of Nevada who took the Board of Pharmacy to court to change its classification.
They argued that Schedule 1 is a category reserved for substances that have no medical purpose and cannot be safely distributed.
They said this was inconsistent with what voters chose both 20 years ago when they legalized medical cannabis use and again, when they voted to legalize recreational use a few years back.
And the judge ultimately agreed.
The legal director of the ACLU of Nevada, Christopher Peterson says the goal was to have marijuana recognized as the same thing throughout Nevada law and treated appropriately.
The court is expected to issue a formal order about the classification change in the next couple weeks or so.
“Another thing we wanted the court to recognize and the court is still considering is to remove the ability to regulate marijuana and cannabis entirely from the Board of Pharmacy. And the reason we want that ruling is that we already have a number of executive agencies that are tasked with regulating cannabis. The Cannabis Compliance Board being the big one, but there are other executive agencies explicitly charged with regulating cannabis.”
We have reached out to the pharmacy board for comment, but have not heard back yet.
