1. No later than 12 months after January 1, 2017, the Department shall begin receiving applications for marijuana establishments.

2. For 18 months after the Department begins to receive applications for marijuana establishments, the Department shall only accept applications for licenses for retail marijuana stores, marijuana product manufacturing facilities, and marijuana cultivation facilities pursuant to this chapter from persons holding a medical marijuana establishment registration certificate pursuant to chapter 453A of NRS.

3. For 18 months after the Department begins to receive applications for marijuana establishments, the Department shall issue licenses for marijuana distributors pursuant to this chapter only to persons holding a wholesale dealer license pursuant to chapter 369 of NRS, unless the Department determines that an insufficient number of marijuana distributors will result from this limitation.

4. Upon receipt of a complete marijuana establishment license application, the Department shall, within 90 days:

(a) Issue the appropriate license if the license application is approved; or

(b) Send a notice of rejection setting forth the reasons why the Department did not approve the license application.

5. The Department shall approve a license application if:

(a) The prospective marijuana establishment has submitted an application in compliance with regulations adopted by the Department and the application fee required pursuant to NRS 453D.230;

(b) The physical address where the proposed marijuana establishment will operate is owned by the applicant or the applicant has the written permission of the property owner to operate the proposed marijuana establishment on that property;

(c) The property is not located within:

(1) One thousand feet of a public or private school that provides formal education traditionally associated with preschool or kindergarten through grade 12 and that existed on the date on which the application for the proposed marijuana establishment was submitted to the Department;

(2) Three hundred feet of a community facility that existed on the date on which the application for the proposed marijuana establishment was submitted to the Department; or

(3) If the proposed marijuana establishment will be located in a county whose population is 100,000 or more, 1,500 feet of an establishment that holds a nonrestricted gaming license described in subsection 1 or 2 of NRS 463.0177 and that existed on the date on which the application for the proposed marijuana establishment was submitted to the Department;

(d) The proposed marijuana establishment is a proposed retail marijuana store and there are not more than:

(1) Eighty licenses already issued in a county with a population greater than 700,000;

(2) Twenty licenses already issued in a county with a population that is less than 700,000 but more than 100,000;

(3) Four licenses already issued in a county with a population that is less than 100,000 but more than 55,000;

(4) Two licenses already issued in a county with a population that is less than 55,000;

(5) Upon request of a county government, the Department may issue retail marijuana store licenses in that county in addition to the number otherwise allowed pursuant to this paragraph;

(e) The locality in which the proposed marijuana establishment will be located does not affirm to the Department that the proposed marijuana establishment will be in violation of zoning or land use rules adopted by the locality; and

(f) The persons who are proposed to be owners, officers, or board members of the proposed marijuana establishment:

(1) Have not been convicted of an excluded felony offense; and

(2) Have not served as an owner, officer, or board member for a medical marijuana establishment or a marijuana establishment that has had its registration certificate or license revoked.

6. When competing applications are submitted for a proposed retail marijuana store within a single county, the Department shall use an impartial and numerically scored competitive bidding process to determine which application or applications among those competing will be approved.

7. For the purposes of paragraph (c) of subsection 5, the distance must be measured from the front door of the proposed marijuana establishment to the closest point of the property line of a school, community facility or gaming establishment.

(Added to NRS by 2016 initiative petition, Ballot Question No. 2; A 2019, 3878; R 2019, 3896, effective July 1, 2020)