Nevada is losing out on $80 million in annual marijuana tax revenue by imposing rules that have created strict barriers between the state’s cannabis and gaming industries, according to a new report. And that policy choice has also driven consumers to purchase “unlicensed, unsafe” products in the illicit market.
At the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) Cannabis Policy Institute and International Gaming Institute’s 3rd Annual Gaming & Cannabis Policy Discussion late last month, lawmakers and officials discussed the impact of regulations that have kept the licensed marijuana industry from fully integrating with the state’s storied gaming sector.
Specifically, they pointed to rules highlighted in the UNLV cannabis institute’s report that prevent marijuana deliveries to most hotels and gaming properties, ban retailers from operating within 1,500 feet of gaming establishments in major counties and broadly restrict gaming licensees from dually participating in or profiting from the licensed cannabis sector.
“The separations act as severe constraints on capital mobility, tourism synergy, and public-revenue growth, without any corresponding economic, public health or safety, or risk benefits to market participants in either market,” the authors wrote.
The report—titled “The 1,500 Foot Wall”—estimates that marijuana businesses are missing out on $750 million in revenue
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