In 2013, medical sales of cannabis were legalized in Nevada. This change had a significant impact on the career path of alumna and attorney Riana Durrett. She's now director of the UNLV Cannabis Policy Institute (CPI).

“I had been practicing law for about five years when medical cannabis sales were legalized," she says. "I started representing a newly formed trade association and, over a five-year period, I built it up to be a source of best practices and cannabis policy guidance.”

She says because of this work and her position as vice chair of Nevada's Cannabis Compliance Board, she was a natural fit to lead CPI when it was created in August 2023.

Cannabis policies, research, and education are relevant to many UNLV departments and colleges including public health, criminal justice, business, and law, she said. However, because cannabis legalization has largely preceded research, there is a lack of reliable information available. Durrett wants the institute to be the link between cannabis research and policy in Nevada and a leader for reliable and consistent information as the country and state’s laws and policies are developed.

Durrett earned her juris doctor degree at UNLV’s William S. Boyd School of Law in 2008. Her focus was immigration and criminal law until shifting her role and serving as the executive director of the Nevada Dispensary Association, developing it into the primary regulatory and government affairs voice for Nevada’s cannabis industry.

“A lot of America is interested in cannabis research and policy, I just have the good fortune of making a career out of it.”

Research and policy development are now the forefront of her efforts at the CPI, and her goal is to overcome a lack of investment into cannabis research as well as the roadblocks that stymie conducting research.

Since becoming CPI director, she has met with deans and faculty members at UNLV interested in cannabis research. She says the most effective way the CPI can advance research and policy is to be engaged with a broad range of community partners, the cannabis industry in Nevada, and universities and thought leaders across the country.

Durrett has partnered with the Institute of Cannabis Research at Colorado State University Pueblo as she seeks to grow her knowledge in applying for and obtaining grants.

“I want to emulate the Institute of Cannabis Research’s cannabis grant process in which the state provides funding for research grants, and the CPI would award the grants in a competitive, peer-reviewed process.”    

In addition to heading the CPI, Durrett serves as vice chair of the Cannabis Compliance Board, which is Nevada’s regulatory body over the legal cannabis industry. The board is responsible for adopting regulations for cannabis in Nevada, developing policy, enforcement, and awarding licenses, including those for cannabis lounges approved by the state in 2021.

She also teaches cannabis law and regulation at the Boyd School of Law.

Another initiative of the CPI is to educate the community about the cannabis industry through a speaker series.

“These are brilliant researchers, attorneys, advocates, etc., in the cannabis world,” says Durrett. “The speaker series aims to bring those people together, to help disseminate their work, and to help those interested in cannabis research and policy learn about important cannabis issues.”

The public is invited to attend the “State of Cannabis Research” panel on May 28 from 1:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m. at the William S. Boyd School of Law Moot Courtroom on the UNLV campus.

The presenters include:

• Dr. Nick Spirtos, "Opiate cessation research and research in Uruguay."
• Michelle Tomasino, "A review of clinical trials at UNLV and cannabis research being conducted at UNLV."
• Dr. Duke Fu, "Industry research and its interests as well as cannabis research in Thailand and Portugal."
• Dr. Chad Kinney, "Research being conducted through ICR and give an overview of ICR."
• Dr. Rochelle Hines, "Components of cannabis, focusing on CBD and terpenes, as well as novel derivatives and connections to psychedelics research."

Admission to attend the panel is free; however, reservations are recommended and can be made by sending an email to cpi@unlv.edu.