Biography

Riana Durrett — a well-known figure in Nevada’s cannabis law and policy space — is the inaugural director of UNLV's Cannabis Policy Institute, which launched in 2023. She also teaches cannabis law and regulation courses at UNLV's William S. Boyd School of Law.

Durrett's background includes appointment by the governor as the first vice chair of the Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board. Prior to her work with the compliance board, Durrett served from 2015 to 2020 as the executive director of the Nevada Dispensary Association, where she established the association as the primary resource on best practices in Nevada's cannabis industry — developing the Nevada Dispensary Association into the primary regulatory and government affairs voice for Nevada's cannabis industry.

In addition to her work at UNLV, Durrett currently serves on the boards of the Nevada Taxpayer Association and the Nevada Conservation League.

Durrett is an attorney admitted to practice law in Nevada and California. While pursuing her law degree, Durrett participated in several internship and externship programs, including a judicial internship for the Suquamish Tribe, where her mother is an enrolled tribal member.