Cannabis Clubs or Marijuana Social Lounges
Adults 21 and older can possess up to an ounce of marijuana, but similar to other states, Nevada bans the public consumption of cannabis. Currently, the only legal place to consume is in a private residence.
That leaves a surge of tourists who stay on the Strip or other resort properties looking for a safe and legal place to consume. They are able to buy pot legally, but have no place to use it. Vegas’ reputation as a place where you can indulge vices brings the city some 45 million visitors a year. But those millions of tourists heading to Sin City hoping to indulge in legal cannabis have a problem: There are few places in town, other than private homes, where someone can legally light up a joint and enjoy themselves.
Pot is legal in Vegas — but tourists have nowhere to smoke
That leaves the door open for Nevada to become the first state to allow regulated social clubs for legal marijuana consumption.
Pot lounges/cannabis clubs in Clark County would be located off the Strip, and could act as a “safe haven” for tourists who want to use marijuana, said Andy Abboud, Las Vegas Sands Corp. senior vice president.
Sen. Tick Segerblom, D-Las Vegas noted Gov. Brian Sandoval’s two-year budget calls for roughly $70 million from a special marijuana sales tax, and said tourists are an important part of that goal.
“We’re trying to get $70 million in tax revenue from them,” Segerblom said. “So let’s give them some place to use it.”
Although lawmakers have tried, no state legislature has yet created rules for cannabis lounges, cafes or tasting rooms.
“The next frontier is: Where do people use it?” said Segerblom. He said that creating lounges where people can legally consume the cannabis products they buy is the logical solution.
Such venues exist in a legal gray zone under Nevada law. It may be legal for local officials to license pot cafes as standalone establishments. For now, the legal requirements for public consumption lounges remains a work in progress.