In breaking news, Nevada dispensaries will now be able to restock shelves with cannabis products intended for sale to consumers outside of its medical cannabis program. Nevada legalized cannabis for adult-use earlier this month but did so without any distributors, who are required as an intermediary between growers, processors and retailers, having been selected yet. The voter initiative in November required that distribution licenses be granted only to alcohol distributors for the first 18 months, but the state launched on July 1st with no distributors yet as it fought a still undecided legal battle to permit distributors from outside of the alcohol distribution industry.
Until now, cannabis retailers could sell only inventory on hand as of June 30th, leaving the market in very short supply. As of today, though, Reno-based Blackbird Logistics, which has been serving the medical market for two years, will serve the market after Nevada awarded its first distribution license. The company has an exclusive operating agreement with an alcohol distributor that allows it to distribute cannabis, and Blackbird also has an option to acquire the distributor in the future.
Blackbird has been a partner to the cannabis industry in Nevada for the past two years. We are thrilled to be able to continue servicing our clients in the adult use market and to have overcome many of the legal hurdles that have threatened to stall the nascent industry shortly after its inception. We are proud that Nevada is a leader in the regulation of marijuana legalization and look forward to continuing to contribute to this historical endeavor.
Tim Conder, Blackbird Logistics CEO
This is excellent news for the Nevada cannabis industry. The state has delivered the fastest transition to legal sales following voter approval of any state to date, and the program now looks sustainable, with the state having averted a crisis due to the inability of dispensaries to restock.
