Illegal cannabis sales from criminal networks have been cutting into profits at legal establishments across Nevada, according to regulators. Regulators presented the numbers to a Senate committee, this week, as lawmakers discussed avenues for enforcement and ways to discourage the illegal market with proposed Assembly legislation.

Where does Nevada’s cannabis industry stand in 2025? What can consumers expect with prices? And how does the 2024 Presidential Election factor in? Our in-studio panel weighs in. Then we meet George Lee, a former Las Vegas blackjack dealer with an incredible story of his start as a ballet dancer on Broadway.

Buying marijuana on the Las Vegas Strip is illegal. That doesn’t mean it’s difficult. Tourists are only a Google search away from the many illegal websites offering delivery to the Resort Corridor. Others can hop on social media to find “pop-up sales parties” in nearby hotel suites. And, as Assemblymember Max Carter II, D-Las Vegas, recalls a visitor telling him, rideshare vehicles will sometimes come supplied with a mini-dispensary.

After approval from both voters and state lawmakers, sales of recreational marijuana products in Nevada have reached more than $5 billion. Sales peaked during the pandemic in 2021 at more than a $1 billion. They’ve fallen since then but remained around $800 million in 2024.

Our first dispensaries opened in Las Vegas 10 years ago — advocates for cannabis legalization had promised a tax revenue jackpot, earmarked for education, that would save our schools. But that windfall never really happened, and since 2021, cannabis revenue has actually dropped and flatlined. Today, co-host Dayvid Figler talks with Riana Durrett, director of the Cannabis Policy Institute at UNLV, and asks: What happened? And is 2025 the year cannabis finally makes money?

U.S. Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nevada, will become one of the leading voices on issues related to cannabis on Capitol Hill. Titus' office announced Thursday that the lawmaker has been named co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus.

Jordan Wellington hosts Riana Durrett, vice chair of the Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board and director of the Cannabis Policy Institute at UNLV, for a discussion about the impact of legal cannabis in Nevada, its relationship with the gaming industry, and why it is so important to get cannabis hospitality right. They also discuss the importance of ongoing research and stakeholder engagement, which were at the heart of the policy symposium co-hosted by CPI and Strategies 64 during MJBizCon.

The Cannabis Policy Institute (CPI) at UNLV has released three new reports addressing key aspects of the cannabis industry. The reports were shared during the institute's inaugural symposium on Dec. 5 and highlighted critical challenges and opportunities related to regulatory reform, market trends, and emerging product categories.