Conine, a Democrat, is the first major candidate to enter the race.

On Wednesday, the Biden administration took the furthest step towards legalizing weed since it was first criminalized, announcing it would reclassify marijuana from its current status as a Schedule I drug, on par with heroin and ecstasy, to Schedule III, which includes drugs such as ketamine and anabolic steroids that are allowed for medical use.

The SAFER Banking Act, a new version of the SAFE Banking Act that passed the House seven times since 2019 but was never passed by the Senate, was again introduced in the Senate this year. The bill would allow legally operating cannabis businesses the same access to financial institutions that other legal businesses receive, from accounts to lines of credit to loans.

According to Layke Martin, the executive director of the Nevada Cannabis Association, cannabis businesses could see up to an 80 percent drop in their tax burden if the drug is rescheduled because the tax code would allow them to write off more expenses. She said this could lead to lower prices for cannabis.

With an amendment, SB195 also seeks to require the CCB to provide estimates for the costs of investigations prior to the commencement of any investigation, remove the CCB’s authority to deny a license, transfer of interest, application, renewal or any regulatory process available to licensees for failure to pay fees, and introduce an appellate process for licensees.

Layke Martin, executive director of the Nevada Cannabis Association, presented SB195 to the Senate Commerce and Labor Committee on Wednesday, a bill that also would place a 30-day limit on the number of days that the Cannabis Compliance Board (CCB) has to approve a plan of correction or else it would be automatically deemed approved.

Data from as far back as October 2021 — when sales prices were higher than now — are influencing the tax rate almost a year later, forcing cultivators to pay effective tax rates that can be double what the Legislature intended.

“Why are fees being billed for routine staff activities … when the regulator's already been fully funded because the Legislature made it a priority starting in 2017?” Martin said.

Lawmakers took a major step this session to expand and diversify the industry’s disproportionately white and male ownership and also provide tourists with a place to legally consume marijuana by creating a new license type for cannabis consumption lounges.

Proponents commissioned an analysis from RGC Economics that projected the state could support up to 1,283 additional dispensaries. Nevada’s marijuana market grossed nearly $700 million last fiscal year and is on track to break that record this fiscal year.

Marijuana business owners and board members in Nevada are disproportionately white and male, while the industry workforce is made up of a greater proportion of people of color, according to a new demographic report on the state’s cannabis industry.

In this edition: We track campaign contributions from Blockchains LLC, including to a PAC run by Treasurer Zach Conine. Capitol Police are also severely understaffed, and the “death with dignity” bill is back after falling short in 2019.

“These final appointments to the CCB each bring their own unique expertise and insight to the table,” Sisolak said in a tweet. “I am confident their contributions to this board will only amplify the sound judgment and strong regulation carried out by the CCB.”