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CARSON CITY, Nev. — Nevada’s new medical marijuana law took effect on Monday — and since then the state has received only one completed application. 

Officials are blaming the mail system for the sluggish start. 

Cecile Crofoot, administrator of the program for the state Department of Agriculture, said the lone applicant has submitted all paperwork, including a doctor’s recommendation and a fingerprint card from a police agency. 

If the individual, who wasn’t identified, clears a background check, Crofoot will send the applicant the documents that go the state Department of Motor Vehicles, which will issue a card authorizing marijuana use. 

The agriculture department began sending out applications on Sept. 24. Crofoot said they were processed through the state mail system and were handled as third-class mail. 

Crofoot said she got several calls from individuals who hadn’t received their applications, so she’s resending the applications by first-class mail. 

Nevada’s medical marijuana program enables people with chronic and debilitating diseases, such as AIDS and glaucoma, to use pot for pain relief.