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Carson City Supervisors to discuss prohibiting curbside cannabis pickup, vote on cannabis lounge ban

UPDATE: Carson City Supervisors voted 4-1 Thursday to outlaw cannabis consumption lounges in the capital city, and agreed to further discussions regarding cannabis curbside pickup. Go here for the latest update.
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In July, the Carson City Board of Supervisors introduced an agenda item that would prohibit the creation of any cannabis lounge businesses within Carson City limits, which were recently allowed by legislation statewide. Now, the board is taking on another cannabis item Thursday: prohibiting curbside pickup.

If adopted, the ordinance would prohibit all curbside pickup of cannabis throughout the city.

Prior to the pandemic, all cannabis transactions took place within the two authorized cannabis locations in town, Sierra Wellness and RISE. However, due to the shutdown, authorization was given to all cannabis facilities throughout the state to conduct curbside pickup along with other businesses to lessen the spread of COVID-19 by no longer requiring customers to enter buildings to conduct business.

The city conducted a Business Impact Statement, as required under NRS 237.080, and found the proposed ordinance would have a direct and significant economic burden upon Carson City’s cannabis businesses.

According to a letter received by the city in regards to the business impact statement, over a third of all cannabis sales in Carson City are done now via curbside pickup. Many of the customers who utilize the services are disabled with mobility issues, or are concerned about the spread of COVID-19 and prefer to do business from the safety of their vehicles.

“Curbside delivery has become more than just a safety measure for COVID but a generally accepted, and now expected, part of the cannabis purchasing experience,” the letter stated. “Through the use of technology, the curbside delivery process is no less safe or less documented than the in-store retail cannabis experience.”

Before a sale takes place, the letter states, customer IDs are scanned, ages are verified, and vehicles with under-age passengers are prohibited from purchasing cannabis via curbside delivery.

“Many of our older clients and those with disabilities have chosen curbside as the best way for Carson City’s dispensaries to service them and their needs,” the letter states. “Additionally, the possibility of a resurgence in COVID cases or additional state-mandated social distancing requirements may necessitate a return to curbside delivery. If new restrictions do become necessary, RISE and Sierra Wellness would wish to comply without delay, as they were able to do at the beginning of the lockdown.”

According to the city, beneficial effects of the ordinance could include “(a reduction in) parking lot traffic, reduce vehicular waiting lines outside of the dispensary, decrease the risk of pedestrian/vehicular accidents in parking lots, and increase safety by requiring transactions to be conducted inside or via delivery, rather than outside the dispensary curbside, which provides one fixed point that is easier and more accessible for criminal elements to target.”

Both RISE and Sierra Wellness were asked whether curbside pickup had led to parking lot traffic, pedestrian/vehicular accidents, or crime within the parking lots, and both stated they have not seen any increase in traffic or accidents, and neither have seen any crime involving their customers.

“I haven’t seen a notable increase or remarkable amount of fender benders in the parking lot (since curbside began), and I have definitely not seen any of our customers have any incidences in our parking lot (relating to crime) either before or after their pick-up,” said Paul Gordon of RISE Carson City.

Ryan Jackson, Assistant Manager for Sierra Wellness, stated that there has never been an issue with crime in their parking lot involving curbside pickup or otherwise.

“We’re all very aware and very involved both inside and outside of the facility,” said Jackson.

Jackson further stated that the majority of those who are utilizing curbside pickup are either elderly or disabled, and outlawing curbside pickup during the pandemic would directly affect those individuals.

Furthermore, Jackson stated that while Sierra Wellness does have a delivery option, they can only deliver to within 15 miles of their store’s location, as per the license that they hold.

RISE does not hold a similar delivery license, said Jackson, but utilizes a separate delivery company called Blackbird. If at any time Blackbird stopped their delivery services in Carson City, RISE would no longer be able to offer delivery to their customers.

Taking away curbside would mean that for individuals in Dayton or Gardnerville, they would have no choice but to go inside of the dispensaries to retrieve their cannabis.

Jackson also pointed out that while restaurants have been allowed to serve alcohol during curbside pickup, there has been no discussion as to whether or not this should be prohibited as well.

At Sierra Wellness, those who utilize curbside pick up pull into a designated parking space and an employee from the dispensary will go to their window, wearing both a mask and gloves as dictated by the Cannabis Board, and will review their ID and their order before it is delivered. Jackson stated they generally do not have issues with lines of cars waiting for curbside pickup, and that the procedure is quick and efficient for customers.

The impact statement also stated that at this time, the Carson City Board of Supervisors has not considered other methods to reduce the impact of the ordinance:

“If the Board of Supervisors approves this business impact statement without modification and determines that the proposed ordinance will impose a direct and significant economic burden upon a business (…), the Board of Supervisors will consider methods to reduce the impact of the proposed ordinance on businesses before the ordinance is adopted, as required by NRS 237.080.”

The impact statement also acknowledged that if the ordinance is enacted, it could result in a decrease in sales for dispensaries, and an accompanying loss of revenue, disruption of the current business operations, and customer dissatisfaction due to the inability to conduct curbside pickup, and some consumers may prefer curbside pickup and may choose to purchase cannabis at other dispensaries outside of Carson City.

It is unclear whether or not there have been any complaints from the public relating to curbside cannabis pick up in Carson City.

Mayor Lori Bagwell requested the agenda item, according to the city manager, and has not returned comment regarding this agenda at the time of this publication.

To read more of the agenda, click here.

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