The Nevada Department of Taxation decided there are an inadequate number of liquor distributors interested in transporting cannabis to retail establishments, opening the business up to others who may be interested.

The decision came after a state of emergency was announced by Gov. Brian Sandoval, which allowed the social cannabis industry to propose emergency legislation on the cannabis shortage. A telephone conference hearing brought the industry, agency officials and the public up to date on whether the alcohol industry alone was sufficient to distribute product around the state.

The alcohol industry was given exclusive rights for 18 months to distribute social cannabis under the measure which legalized sales. The exclusivity was based on the amount of distributors required to fill the need of 50 cannabis retail stores.

Deonne Contine, executive director of the tax department, said her goal was to make the program work, and the capacity of only liquor wholesalers allowed to transport product was inefficient.

The agency will begin processing distribution licenses to legal cannabis licensees immediately.