St. Patrick’s Day was a perfect backdrop for Pahrump’s sole marijuana dispensary, as The Grove celebrated its second anniversary with a bright green theme on Saturday.
Manager Zachary Wright spent most of the day talking to customers, along with curious visitors about the recreational marijuana industry in Southern Nevada.
Numerous discounts and sales on products and accessories were taken advantage of by hundreds of customers throughout the day.
When all was said and done, Wright summed up Saturday’s special observance, which had several area vendors on site.
“It was a wonderful event and we had a really good turnout today,” Wright said. “We are super excited that we can share this with our customers and celebrate them for giving us such an awesome experience here in Pahrump and to be part of this community. We also had multiple vendors here today giving out a lot of T-shirts, hats and great information about some of their products.”
In the beginning
The use of recreational marijuana became legal in Nevada in July 2017, while medical marijuana was legalized roughly a year earlier in March of 2016.
Wright acknowledged that as a result, some medical marijuana patients felt neglected and overlooked by the dispensary once pot became legally available to all Silver State residents.
“Unfortunately, we did have some medical marijuana patients who felt uncomfortable with the new changes on recreational marijuana availability and they were also understandably upset with the new pricing,” he said. “I just want them to know that we truly care about all of our medical marijuana patients. I know the pricing is a little higher, but we still want them to come in and they will still get the same professional experience every time because nothing has changed there.”
Certain advantages
Additionally, Wright said those who possess a medical marijuana card are granted special privileges that are not afforded to those without a card.
“When medical marijuana patients come in, they are first in line, and first out the door,” Wright noted. “If they come here on a Saturday and there are 20 people ahead of them, they will go to the head of the line. Our medical marijuana patients also get 10 percent off at the register.”
More to come
On the issue of expanding the marijuana industry in southern Nye County, Wright said plans are now in the works for a second dispensary in Pahrump.
The current Grove is located at 1541 E. Basin Ave., off Highway 160.
“The State of Nevada Department of Taxation will begin accepting applications in May for new dispensary licenses, and Nye County will get another one,” he said. “I do know that the Board of County Commissioners were pushing for two more and we would most likely open it here in Pahrump. It will most likely be a location on the south side of town.”
As Wright surveyed the crowd at Saturday’s event, he actually made a prediction about which state will be the next to legalize recreational marijuana.
He had three states on his short list.
“No. 1 is Idaho,” he said. “Arizona is next and I’d like to say Florida after that. I would bet money on Arizona for sure.”
Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes