Nevada Dispensary Fined $45,000
A marijuana store operating in southern Nevada was fined $45,000 by state regulators after self-reporting that an employee sold more than the legally allowable 1 ounce of marijuana in May 2021. Regulators initially considered fining the company $62,500, however, after some discussion, the decision has been revised.
Nevada Organic Remedies owns and manages The Source marijuana retail shops, where, last year, a budtender was found to have sold more marijuana to a customer than the legal limit is. The company reported the error to the state's Cannabis Compliance Board (CCB) three days later, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.Â
Nevada Organic Remedies reported that a safeguard in the company's sales system supposed to flag the sale was disabled at the time of the disputed transaction. The company ensured the system was back immediately after the incident.Â
The company also took additional action to train employees to not rely as much on the safeguard to catch sales that breach legal protocols. Nevertheless, state regulators insisted to fine Nevada Organic Remedies, initially with a sum of $62,500.Â
One of the regulatory board members, Riana Durret, expressed concern the fine was too hefty.
"I think the amount is really, really high, so I would be in favor of a lower amount since it was self-reported," Durret reportedly said last week when the board discussed the case.Â
Deputy Attorney General L. Kristopher Rath explained the high sum for the fine was also influenced by a previous violation the company had, according to the Review-Journal.
An attorney representing the company, Amanda Connor, told the board that levying such high fines on a self-reported error could have a chilling effect across the state's cannabis sector.Â
"I do think it's important for the board to remember that such steep penalties on self-reports is going to discourage people in the industry from self-reporting," Connor said.Â
In the end, a solution was proposed to reduce the fine to $45,000, unanimously voted by the board.Â
Well, now, if you ask me, I still think that's hell-of-a-lot money for a self-reporting error. Yikes!
S
Stephen Andrews
