Medical marijuana became legal in Nevada effective April 1, making it legal in Nevada to sell, grow, test and tax medical marijuana, according to USA Today.
Even though the law goes into effect today, government officials said not to expect to see medical marijuana dispensaries, indoor grow facilities or labs to test the pot pop up right away, USA Today reported.
The ability to buy or grow medical marijuana to smoke or eat with a doctor's prescription in Washoe County is still about 10 months away, said representatives of local governments, according to USA Today.
"There are so many what ifs," said Adam Mayberry, spokesman for the city of Sparks, USA Today reported. "The reports I have seen put it at later this year or early 2015. It is possible you could see it by later this year - and I want to emphasis late."
The state of Nevada, Sparks, Reno and Washoe County are all moving forward with the process of managing, controlling and taxing the marijuana industry, according to USA Today.
Nevada is already accepting job applications and is interviewing job candidates for 12 permanent and 15-part-time staffers necessary to manage and process applications of potential growers and sellers of medical marijuana, USA Today reported.
After the staffers are hired, the state will issue a 45-day notice as to when they will accept applications over a two-week period for the growing and selling of medical marijuana, according to USA Today.
About 400 applications are expected to be submitted to the state for those wanting to get in the business by growing, cooking or selling medical marijuana, USA Today reported.
The state will get a 2 percent tax on the wholesale and retail sales of marijuana and local governments are expecting to glean sales and property taxes from the medical marijuana business, but there is no fee yet, according to USA Today.
Hiring the permanent staff is the key to getting the application process moving, said Marla McDade-Williams, deputy administrator of the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, USA Today reported.
"We need our permanent people on staff," McDade-Williams said, according to USA Today. "We've got the (application) forms mostly developed but we have to get them finalized. We have to train our permanent staff so they can then train the temporary staff. So really the permanent staff is the key before we will be ready to go."
Zoning codes for marijuana grow houses are expected to be considered by the City Council of Sparks on April 28, according to USA Today. Sparks is also working on zoning codes for the dispensaries, which could be discussed by the city council on June 9.
