All the medical and recreational marijuana dispensaries operating in the State of Nevada must shut down their storefronts according to the emergency declaration issued by Governor Steve Sisolak on March 20.
All public storefronts were compelled to close by midnight on the same day despite the surge in purchases. Nonetheless, legal cannabis sales will continue by delivery only. Nobody will be allowed to visit the stores. Currently, legal cannabis sales are up by almost 30%, as highlighted by the BDS Analytics CEO Roy Bingham.
“The spike in sales that we saw is similar to what we see for a holiday like 4/20. That’s the biggest holiday of the year (for dispensaries).”
Bingham was speaking while referring to the global celebration of marijuana every year on April 20. He said that the next few weeks would be a significant test of supply for the entire Nevada marijuana industry. Although there has been a substantial surge in deliveries nationwide, Bingham believes that it is still unclear whether that surge will continue while people are self-isolating. He added:
“I think the big concern for everyone in the cannabis industry is that this is a short term blip and then we will see a deterioration of the market. While there’s a pickup in sales, it’ll be interesting to see if the demand slacks off.”
Increased Demand
In the last week, there has been a significant increase in consumers, and they are buying more marijuana than usual, as noted by Sol Cannabis owner Ed Alexander. The opinion to keep the industry open is to ensure that there is a supply of medicine for patients who face severe illnesses like post-traumatic stress disorder and cancer.
Alexander said:
“I’ve been telling all my medical patients to get their products delivered.”
To offer a solution to any increased demand for marijuana delivery services, the Marijuana Enforcement Division has come up with interesting implementations. They have implemented new virtual delivery vehicle inspection procedures to allow cannabis licensees to cater to all increases in market demand for cannabis delivery.
State officials will be inspecting vehicles with 360-degree video to check new vehicles. Currently, the state of Nevada has 38 dispensaries that offer delivery services, according to the taxation officials. However, the new temporary procedure that approves new delivery vehicles will enable all dispensaries to deliver their products to the people who need them.
The authorized vehicles will only get a 60-day license for deliveries. But, no curbside pickup of marijuana products will be allowed according to a March 20 Nevada Department of Taxation press release.
