Officials from the Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board (CCB) said Tuesday during a presentation to state lawmakers that illicit cannabis sales in Nevada have grown to a $242 million industry, KLAS 8 News Now reports. The officials also noted that because more cannabis consumers are opting for the illicit market, typically for convenience or pricing-related reasons — and also due to a downtrend in cannabis use after nationwide spikes during the COVID-19 pandemic — cannabis tax revenue in the state has dropped.
Cannabis industry sales fell from $965 million in fiscal year 2022 to $829 million in fiscal year 2024, and cannabis tax revenue dropped by $32 million during the same period, the report said.
When pressed by lawmakers about why the illicit market is growing despite the state having legalized adult-use cannabis in 2017, CCB officials including Executive Director James Humm noted that enforcement duties are split between the Department of Agriculture, which oversees cannabis cultivation, and the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees cannabis consumable products.
“We have also heard complaints of delivery to the Strip properties, to the hotels and casinos where licensees are not able to deliver. I feel like that is a big competitor. And additionally, high-potency CBD products that have THC in them, hemp-derived products that are extremely potent are also readily available online and in smoke shops and other types of facilities around town.” — Kara Cronkhite, CCB Chief of Health and Safety, in the report
Sen. Fabian Doñate (D) asked the board if its authority should be expanded to cover enforcement actions against illegal cannabis operators; Humm said he was “happy to contemplate that,” according to the report.
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