Cannabis Policy Institute at UNLV News
The Cannabis Policy Institute at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas is dedicated to the development and advancement of cannabis research, policy, and education.
Current Cannabis Policy Institute News
The rosiest headlines and highlights featuring the students and faculty of UNLV.
After an unexpected start in public health, this professor of social and behavioral health is uncovering the complexities of substance misuse and childhood trauma.
Three new reports, shared during CPI's inaugural symposium, explore complexities of Nevada’s cannabis economy, national marketing strategies, and explosion of THC beverage market.
A collection of news highlights featuring students and faculty.
News highlights featuring UNLV students and staff who made (refreshing) waves in the headlines.
By building relationships with members of the industry and other universities, the institute's director hopes to advance funding for research.
Cannabis Policy Institute In The News
Oklahoma, Oregon and California are the best-positioned states to benefit from the interstate commerce that would result from federal marijuana descheduling, according to a white paper published this month by the University of Nevada Las Vegas. The analysis said those states having the cheapest large-scale production costs and the highest per-capita economic potential, putting them in a better position that other state-legal cannabis markets.
Once businesses can send marijuana products coast to coast, current markets, regulatory burden and the varying costs of doing business will help decide which states beat out the others in the market, University of California, Davis economist Robin Goldstein wrote in a report with UNLV’s Cannabis Policy Institute.
However, she also noted that she has long supported daily room cleaning for its potential public safety benefits. In particular, she thinks it can be helpful in cracking down on sex trafficking and the illicit cannabis market (she is a regulatory attorney for the cannabis industry), referring to a 2024 UNLV report that determined restrictions on cannabis operations or deliveries around the Las Vegas Strip have created an opening for illegal cannabis sales.
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.