Nevada: Bill to increase penalties for growing marijuana scheduled for work session

Published: May 13, 2009

Yesterday, a bill that seeks to create an entirely new and additional set of penalties for growing marijuana was tentatively scheduled for a work session — possibly tomorrow or Friday. Please send your state legislators an e-mail today in opposition to SB 262.

After you have e-mailed your legislators, please follow up by placing a call in opposition to SB 262.

Although proponents of this misguided proposal claim that SB 262 is intended to target major grow operations, it would create a new, additional penalty for those who grow only a single marijuana plant. Under the provisions of SB 262, growing between one and 25 marijuana plants would be a gross misdemeanor, which carries up to one year in jail and a $2,000 fine. However, under current Nevada law, it is already a felony punishable by up to six years in prison and $20,000 in fines to illegally cultivate or sell marijuana. If SB 262 becomes law, the new penalties would be in addition to existing penalties.

Perhaps the most egregious result of a bill like SB 262 is that legitimate medical marijuana patients who forget to renew their ID card, or have even one plant above the legal limit (seven), would be treated as a marijuana trafficker!

In short, SB 262 would carelessly lump those growing a few marijuana plants for their own personal or medical use into the same category as drug traffickers. Even worse, the proposed penalty could be tacked on to the already available charges of possession, trafficking, attempt, racketeering, conspiracy, and manufacturing.

Please write and call your state legislators in opposition to SB 262 today.

Thank you for supporting the Marijuana Policy Project and all of our allies. Please be sure to pass this alert along to other Nevadans who may also be interested in marijuana policy reform.