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District Court Judge Rules In Favor Of Alcohol Distributors For Rec Pot Transport

Noah Glick
Lawyers for the state Department of Taxation deliberate during an all-day hearing in Carson City District Court Monday.

Tuesday, 5:04 p.m. update:

A district court judge in Carson City has granted a preliminary injunction that prohibits the state of Nevada from issuing distribution licenses for recreational pot to anyone other than wholesale alcohol distributors.
 
District Court Judge James Wilson made his ruling today [tuesday] after an all-day hearing yesterday in Carson City. 
 
At that hearing, the state Department of Taxation claimed there was insufficient interest from alcohol distributors to meet the demands of the new market.
 
Lawyers for liquor wholesalers argued the department didn't provide information into what would be considered sufficient. Kevin Benson represented the alcohol distributors.
 

"The department really has no idea what the need is in the market. So how they're going to make this sufficiency determination when they don't really have the information required to make that determination essentially proves our case," he says.

With his ruling, Judge Wilson leaves recreational pot distribution open to five alcohol distributors that applied by the May 31 deadline. 85 medical marijuana establishments also applied.

Noah Glick is a former content director and host at KUNR Public Radio.
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