A judge ruled last week that the Nevada Board of Pharmacy must remove cannabis from the state’s list of Schedule I substances.
Clark County District Judge Joe Hardy’s Sept. 14 ruling, which comes more than 20 years after Nevada voters approved medical cannabis legalization, stems from a lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Nevada, according to the Nevada Current.
The ACLU sued on behalf of Antoinette Poole, who was convicted of possession of a controlled substance for possessing cannabis, the news outlet reported. The ACLU argued in the case that Nevadans continue to be arrested for cannabis possession due to the Board of Pharmacy maintaining cannabis as a Schedule I substance.
The Board of Pharmacy argued that since the federal government lists cannabis as a Schedule I drug, the state should, as well, according to the Nevada Current.
Hardy ruled that listing cannabis as a Schedule I drug conflicts with the state Constitution, which states that cannabis has medical uses, the news outlet reported.
Nevada voters passed a ballot measure to legalize medical cannabis in 2000 and approved adult-use cannabis legalization in the 2016 election. The Cannabis Control Board (CCB) will begin accepting applications for cannabis consumption lounges next month after Gov. Steve Sisolak signed legislation last year to legalize the operations in the state.
