Whole Wet Plant in Nevada

One major challenge is that current regulations don’t recognize frozen flower as a distinct product by weight after it has been processed, or "bucked," off the stem. Instead, compliance rules expect operators to freeze and track the entire plant, stalks and stems included. However, stalks and stems have no value for extraction and are often discarded. Paying tax on these unusable parts doesn’t make sense for operators trying to maximize efficiency and reduce waste.

Another complication is that freezers are not designed as giant cold, dry storage rooms, nor can operators simply cut down plants and freeze them without proper processing. For effective storage, wet plants should be bucked, separated, and bagged — but the current compliance language doesn’t account for this. By forcing businesses to freeze whole plants, Nevada is inadvertently creating inefficiencies and raising operational costs for an industry that already operates on thin margins.

The Cannabis Compliance Board (CCB) should update its policies around frozen plants, potentially creating a new category for "frozen flower by weight" to facilitate a more accurate, streamlined approach. By allowing bucked plants to be tracked by usable parts only — similar to other bulk cannabis products — the system could better meet the operational needs of cannabis businesses while preserving transparency and regulatory oversight.