Posted: Aug 2, 2021 11:29 am
Last updated: August 2, 2021, 11:53 am.
Las Vegas marijuana use lounges, places where recreational cannabis can be consumed, were legalized across Nevada earlier this year.
A woman scours the Planet 13 cannabis dispensary in Las Vegas. The venue is one of several in the Las Vegas Valley developing plans for on-site consumption. (Image: Planet 13 Las Vegas)
Nevada’s 2016 Recreational Marijuana Act allows anyone over the age of 21 to legally purchase cannabis. But the legislation left tourists, travelers, and even resident renters faced with a puzzle: where to consume?
The state’s recreational marijuana law allows use only in private homes. Using legally purchased cannabis from a recreational pharmacy in a casino, hotel room, or rental unit is illegal.
Commercial casinos remain federally classified as List 1 illegal narcotics and stay a long way from anything related to the marijuana industry. Companies and employees licensed by the Gaming Control Board in Nevada must refrain from any involvement in cannabis.
Nevada’s Governor Steve Sisolak (D) recognized the use challenge for non-residents and signed Assembly Bill 341 in June. The law gives the state’s Cannabis Compliance Board the power to license and regulate consumption lounges.
Las Vegas style lounges
Anyone who has been to Las Vegas in the past few years knows that cannabis is prevalent throughout southern Nevada outside of private homes. Law enforcement officers rarely cite individuals who violate the marijuana use law. But pharmacies in the area believe legal, regulated lounges could be another draw for the area.
For a lot of people, a lounge is just four walls with a couple of couches, ”Tyler Klimas, executive director of the Cannabis Compliance Board, told the Las Vegas Sun. “I think we’ll see some experience ideas.”
Planet 13, the largest pharmacy in the Las Vegas Valley, has long been delighting visitors with its superstore that offers interactive LED floors and walls, water features, 3D projections and digital laser graffiti.
“We want to do something that people can travel to, something like a club concept,” said David Farris, VP of Sales and Marketing at Planet 13. “We know there is pressure on us to build something special.”
Upcoming attractions
While Las Vegas marijuana dispensaries across the city prepare their lounge plans, casino patrons will likely have to call an Uber to visit such a facility. The cannabis use law signed by Sisolak states that such venues are not within 300 feet of a school, 100 feet of a community facility, or 500 feet of a business with an unrestricted gambling license.
Arcades that wish to operate more than 15 slot machines and / or table games must acquire an unrestricted gaming license from the state. The 1,500-foot mandate required under Nevada’s Cannabis Use Lounge Act means that such a location, which might be the closest to a casino, is nearly three-tenths of a mile away.
But legal recreational marijuana and a place to legally consume it, Nevada offers yet another amenity to cater to potential tourists and gamers. Only six states besides Nevada have passed laws allowing lounges for marijuana use – Alaska, California, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, and New Jersey.
In Nevada, cannabis lounges only allow customers to consume products that were purchased from the on-site pharmacy. Alcohol is banned.
