The Nevada Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling that deemed the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy’s designation of marijuana as a schedule I drug as unconstitutional, allowing the board to continue classifying cannabis as a controlled substance on par with cocaine and heroin, Epoch Times reported.
In their Aug. 5 ruling, all seven justices on the Nevada Supreme Court determined that the lower court’s decision, which found the pharmacy board’s classification of marijuana as a controlled substance in violation of the state constitution, was incorrect on procedural grounds, including lack of standing.
The justices wrote in their opinion that the plaintiffs in the case, Antoine Poole and the Cannabis Equity and Inclusion Community (CEIC), “do not clearly demonstrate the injury-in-fact or causation components of standing, and they cannot show redressability in view of Nevada’s statutory scheme.”
The high court’s ruling allows the pharmacy board to continue classifying marijuana as a schedule I listed drug under state law, despite the fact that the substance is legal in Nevada for both medical and recreational purposes, highlighting a potential conflict within Nevada’s legal framework.
The Nevada Supreme Court’s decision overturns a 2022 ruling by Clark County Judge Joe Hardy of the Eighth Judicial District that found the pharmacy board violated the Nevada Constitution by designating cannabis as a schedule I controlled substance.
