Las Vegas Criminal Defense Blog

The Nevada Supreme Court will hear an appeal of a Clark County District Court judge's decision which claimed Nevada medical marijuana law is unconstitutional. In the case, the district judge dismissed a case where the defendants were charged with drug trafficking for supplying marijuana to medical marijuana patients. Briefs on the case should be submitted to the court within six months, and it remains to be seen whether the court will entertain oral arguments.

Currently, Nevada medical marijuana law allows approved medical marijuana cardholders to possess small amounts of marijuana for the express purpose of relieving pain related to disease and chronic conditions. However, there is no feasible way for cardholders to obtain marijuana since Nevada law also makes it a crime to sell or buy marijuana. Some dispensaries "give away" marijuana to patients, who are encouraged to leave a cash donation which can be construed as an illegal payment.

Nevada medical marijuana law makes medical marijuana cards good for only one year, and cardholders need to keep reapplying in order to use medical marijuana legally. The card permits cardholders to possess one ounce of usable medical marijuana and up to three mature marijuana plants or up to four immature marijuana plants. However, cardholders may not possess or use medical marijuana in a public space or a public view.

For more on this story read: http://www.lvrj.com/news/nevada-supreme-court-looking-at-medical-marijuana-law-ruling-144738965.html

To learn about how much medical marijuana is allowed in Nevada, watch our informational video:

Yesterday a Las Vegas criminal court judge denied a motion to dismiss a case charging defendants with distributing marijuana. The defendants claim they were merely giving away the marijuana in accordance with Nevada medical marijuana laws and accepted donations. Over a dozen people have been charged in the case.

Nevada medical marijuana laws allows people suffering from certain diseases to apply for a medical marijuana card so they may take the drug as pain-killers. A Nevada medical marijuana card is good for one year and permits the cardholder to legally possess under state law no more than one ounce of marijuana at a time. Technically federal authorities may still arrest a cardholder for possessing marijuana since federal law doesn't allow medical marijuana use. However federal authorities tend to focus their efforts on large scale drug rings as opposed to ailing patients following state law.

Nevada law keeps confidential the names of applicants to and members of the medical marijuana program. They also keep private the person's physician and caregiver. But the state government may release information to law enforcement if they call into question the person's right to possess medical marijuana.

For more on this story go to: http://www.lvrj.com/news/judge-denies-motion-to-dismiss-medical-marijuana-case-130650943.html

To learn about how much medical marijuana a cardholder is permitted to have, see our informational video on Nevada Medical Marijuana Laws