Nevada Gov. Vetoes Cannabis Massage Bill
With just one week left in his term, Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval vetoed a cannabis massage bill that would have allowed healthcare providers and massage therapists to use cannabis or hemp-infused topical oils in their practices.
Sen. Tick Segerblom’s Senate Bill 374 sought to allow massage therapists and healthcare providers to administer infused topical oils without discipline from professional licensing boards. Massage therapists would be free to express their opinions on medical cannabis and use it topically in practice. Gov. Sandoval vetoed SB-374 along with three other measures, AB-350, AB-427 and SB-434, bringing his tally of vetoes to 15 total.
Sandoval said the bill “raises several questions” about how medical cannabis can be applied. “It is also imprudent to expand possible uses of recreational marijuana by allowing topical application of products containing marijuana and hemp by massage therapists and others,” Sandoval wrote in his veto message. “These are subjects that warrant further study and review to consider the efficacy, health effects and legality of these issues.” The bill passed the Senate on April 25 with a 12-9 vote and passed the in the Assembly on May 22 with a 26-14 vote.
Cannabis-infused and hemp-infused topicals rich in CBD are becoming popular for the treatment of muscle pain and tension. CBD’s anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties are perfect for topical products like salves or lotions.
Attorney Jim Hartman challenged Nevada’s recreational cannabis law on May 8 claiming that the Nevada Tax Comission’s “Early Start” program, which sped up recreational cannabis sales, violated the state’s open meeting laws by excluding references to cannabis. However, on May 30, the Nevada attorney general’s office ruled that a Nevada Tax Commission meeting this month did not violate the state’s open meeting laws. Recreational cannabis will be sold in Nevada beginning on July 1, in record time, six months earlier than the original start date under Question 2.
