Las Vegas will get a new attraction this fall—cannabis consumption lounges.
Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak signed a bill this week to license and regulate cannabis consumption lounges. The law is a big deal for Nevada’s cannabis industry because it has been illegal to smoke, vape, or eat marijuana products anywhere except for a private home. That means, especially for tourists in Las Vegas, while it’s easy to buy weed at the many dispensaries in Sin City, finding a place to toke up was a different matter. (It’s a misdemeanor to consume in public and hotels and casinos have banned cannabis consumption.) But, by October, Nevada should be home to its first cannabis lounges.
Assembly Bill No. 341, sponsored by Assemblyman Steve Yeager, will allow for dispensaries to apply for on-site consumption licenses as well as standalone businesses to open what will essentially be a pot bar.
The rules are still being written, but lounges will not be allowed to host gambling or alcohol. Regulators are also defining the types of cannabis products that will be allowed in lounges, but the bill legalizes smoking on premises and the consumption of single-serve THC-infused edibles and beverages. Live entertainment will also be allowed.
“You can think of it like a bar, except obviously there will be no alcohol,” Yeager said during a hearing with Nevada’s senate finance committee. “It could be a joint, an edible, it could be an infused food or infused soda, whatever the concept might be.”
But, Vegas being Vegas, Yeager said he’s excited for the more creative concepts. He says there will likely be weed-friendly yoga studios, cannabis-serving comedy clubs and high-end restaurants that infuse dishes with THC.
“Whatever you could think of could be possible,” said Yeager.
Every dispensary can apply to add a consumption lounge to its site, but each company can only have one lounge. At first, the state will only allow 20 standalone lounges and 10 of the licenses will go to social equity applicants. Lounges must also be outfitted with ventilation and exhaust systems and each employee must be trained around how to serve cannabis products and describe the potency, absorption time, and effects of each product, and the proper use of paraphernalia. Staff will also be trained to recognize cannabis impairment and how to handle patrons who overconsume.
There was only one place visitors could imbibe before the new law: the NuWu Cannabis Tasting Room, a 16,000-square-foot cannabis store owned by the Paiute Tribe just north of Downtown Las Vegas.
But now, the race is on create the biggest and best cannabis experience in Las Vegas. Planet 13, which has a 112,000-square-foot superstore five minutes off the Strip, is trying to build out a marijuana-friendly “Vegas-style club” as quickly as possible.
“As with the rest of our dispensary we look forward to setting the bar and showing the industry what is possible when your goal is to Out Vegas, Vegas,” said Bob Groesbeck Co-CEO of Planet 13.
Ben Kovler, the founder and CEO of Green Thumb Industries, opened a Cookies branded dispensary on the Las Vegas Strip in May. Cookies is a popular brand known for its cannabis strains and GTI cut a licensing deal with its founders, Bay Area hip-hop artist Berner and a longtime grower who goes by Jai. Kovler says GTI will apply for a cannabis consumption lounge for the dispensary, which is down the street from the Strat Hotel.
“When people come to Vegas for a bachelor party, a wedding, or just to see friends they haven’t seen in 15 months, they’re going to want to get together and consume cannabis and pretty soon there will be consumption lounges and they’re going to want to come to Cookies,” says Kovler. “What better place than Las Vegas? It’s an experience city in the middle of the desert.”
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June 12, 2021 at 03:50AM
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Cannabis Consumption Lounges Are Coming To Las Vegas - Forbes
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