Despite uncertainty about whether recreational marijuana sales were going to start July 1, dispensaries are going full puff ahead around Nevada.

The date also happens to be at the beginning of a busy Fourth of July weekend in Las Vegas.

"Vegas in general is very busy for Fourth of July so that's just music to my ears as far as going rec a few days before Fourth of July," said Matt Morgan, CEO of Tryke Companies/Reef Dispensaries. "We'll be able to cater to all those recreational customers as they come into town."

July 1, the day recreational marijuana could be sold legally in the state, is just around the corner.

Medical marijuana dispensaries in the state will sell the products.  During the last week in June, marijuana growers are racing against the clock to distribute as much product to dispensaries as possible.

They're trying to do it all ahead of the weekend rush.

Taking on the theme of Black Friday, many shops are planning to open its doors at midnight leading into Saturday.
   
Dyran Stalling is the cultivating brains behind Nature's Kindest, and he says at any given time he has between five and seven pounds of inventory.  However, right now, he has less than one, so he's feeling the pressure.

As Nevada prepares to roll out its recreational marijuana program at midnight on July 1, local dispensaries and producers are working overtime to prepare for the anticipated demand.

Evergreen Organix, one of the state's largest marijuana edible producers that's carried by most of the state's dispensaries, has anticipated the surge in demand for their products.

Gourmet Infused Confections

According to company officials, Evergreen Organix staff has been working extended hours with additional personnel for the past ten days.  They will continue production through the end of this week to prepare for the launch of Nevada's recreational cannabis program on July 1st.

The Nevada Tax Commission is expected to take one more step toward the start of recreational marijuana sales in Nevada.

While Gov. Brian Sandoval has already signed onto the emergency regulations for the labeling and packaging of marijuana, the Tax Commission is expected to formally adopt the regulations Monday at its meeting.

On July 1, any adult 21 and older will be able to walk into one of 37 approved dispensaries in Southern Nevada and buy up to an ounce of marijuana.

“We’re just kind of playing the game as the rules change, to be honest with you,” said Lissa Lawatsch of Las Vegas Releaf.

So far, it’s been a rollercoaster of regulations.

News 3 has obtained a copy of Nevada’s Statement of Emergency and draft regulations to allow certain medical marijuana establishments to begin selling recreationally to adults 21 and older beginning on July 1.

The regulations detail limitations on the amount of THC that is allowed in edible products and sets requirements for child-proof packaging and labeling. The regulations also prohibit certain products that are “normally consumed by or found appealing to children, such as lollipops and gummy bears.”

Recreational sales of marijuana in Nevada may not begin next month after all.

A judge added to the uncertainty Tuesday when he extended a temporary order preventing the state from issuing pot distribution licenses to existing medical marijuana dispensaries so they can begin recreational sales July 1.

Carson City District Judge James Wilson said in a 11-page ruling Tuesday that the ballot measure voters approved in November dictates that licensed alcohol wholesalers have the exclusive rights to pot distribution licenses for 18 months.

A Nevada-licensed marijuana producer is breaking ground with a Canadian stock listing that allows it to raise funds to grow and sell pot in the legally murky U.S. market, likely opening the door for an influx of others.

Friday Night Inc. made its public trading debut Friday on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) and saw its shares spike 467 per cent to close its first day with a market value of $44.2 million, suggesting there is significant investor interest in companies with U.S. state licences to cultivate cannabis.

U.S. marijuana companies are forbidden to list on public stock exchanges in their home country because the drug is considered a Schedule I narcotic at the federal level.

Nevada voters legalized recreational marijuana in November, and officials are trying to put rules in place to start selling it on July 1.

It would be the shortest turnaround from legalization to the launch of sales in any of the other seven states and District of Columbia where recreational pot is legal. Regulations are complicated and typically lengthy to enact around a drug still banned by the U.S. government.

But Nevada's quick timeline faces a major hurdle: A legal battle between the state and the powerful liquor lobby over who can distribute the drug to retailers.

Here's a look at the obstacles to recreational pot in Nevada and what could happen next:

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WHAT'S THE RUSH?

The 2017 legislative session, also called by many the "marijuana session," just ended, and lawmakers introduced over a dozen marijuana-related bills.  Roughly a third of them are likely to become law.

Last November, voters approved recreational pot last, so during this legislative session, lawmakers scrambled to regulate the budding industry.