A new Nevada bill introduced on Tuesday could allow pets to use pot. The proposal is part of a larger bill that would overhaul the state’s medical marijuana law, remove penalties for drivers who test positive for the drug, and require more stringent training for marijuana vendors.

Senator Tick Segerblom, D-Nev., is sponsoring a bill that would allow animal owners to acquire marijuana with the certification of a veterinarian if the animal’s pain could be alleviated by the drug, the Associated Press reported. Segerblom admitted that the drugs may have adverse effects on the animals, but said, “You don't know until you try."

Cannabis or marijuana possession and sale for recreational use in Nevada could be legalized in November next year as the legislature is expected to let voters decide whether to regulate it like alcohol. Nevada already has decriminalized possession of the substance for people 21 and older and it is legalized for medical use in the state, but possession of marijuana is still a misdemeanor and the sale of it is still a felony. The first offense of possession of 1 ounce or less of marijuana warrants a $600 fine, and subsequent offenses go up to $5,000 or even jail terms.

Early last year, the broker for a 100,000-square-foot warehouse near Las Vegas called the power company to find out how much juice the building would need.

Longtime NV Energy executive Arnold Lopez went out to meet a group on the site and asked what kind of business they planned.

After some hesitation, they told him: medical marijuana cultivation.

Lopez asked questions and started doing some quick math. And, as he recalled, “All of a sudden I came up with numbers I’d never seen before.”

That single marijuana-growing operation, he estimated, could require 5 megawatts of capacity — enough to power 1,000 homes. That’s about 5 percent of the capacity of an entire substation.

Leslie Bosckor, co-founder of Nevada Cannabis Industry Association, is creating a similar association in New York.

On February 28 some 75 tribal leaders from across the country met to discuss forming the first “Tribal Cannabis Association” at the Tulalip Resort Casino on the Tulalip Reservation in Washington State.

This followed a packed day on February 27 of “Tribal Marijuana Conference” presentations and panels with speakers as diverse as former U.S. Attorney Troy Eid (current chair of President Barack Obama’s National Indian Law and Order Commission) to the city attorneys of both Seattle and Boulder, Colorado, who gave in-depth overviews of how implementation of state laws legalizing marijuana possession and usage is proceeding in their respective cities.

March 3, 2015

Nearly 40% of the 519 businesses that applied for medical cannabis business licenses in Nevada have chosen to remain anonymous, taking advantage of a stipulation in the state’s MMJ law that allows applicants to withhold their information from public view.

A state senator believes that’s a big problem, saying the anonymity option gave rise to questions regarding political favoritism in the licensing process.

“It’s been a disaster,” Sen. Richard ‘Tick’ Segerblom, D-Las Vegas, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Medical marijuana dispensaries are slated to launch in several new states this year, accelerating the MMJ industry’s march across the country.

But it’s difficult to determine the potential size of these markets, as it will largely depend on how many patients register for medical cannabiscards.

So far, patient totals are relatively low in these states.

Just 200 people have signed up for cards in Delaware, where the first and only dispensary allowed is scheduled to open this spring. That represents a miniscule .02% of the population.

Hugh Hempel | TEDxUniversityofNevada