It’s been a long road to the establishment of marijuana consumption lounges in Nevada. These are places you could go to drink, smoke or eat product infused with THC.
The lounges became something of a necessity after Nevada legalized recreational use in 2017. Because the law said: You could use marijuana in your home —but anywhere else was illegal.
So the millions of tourists who come here, buy edibles or pot and want to use it? If they did it anywhere near the Strip, they could be arrested.
Of course, they did it anyway. Stroll down the Strip any night or day and you’re bound to catch a whiff of that earthy, herbal aroma.
But it’s still illegal.
In just a few months, though, that’s all gonna change for Las Vegas and Clark County. The state put together regulations, now Clark County is tinkering with them.
County Commissioner Tick Segerblom, who helped legalize recreational marijuana as a state senator, has been pushing for these lounges for years.
“I'm used to the government taking a long time, but this is extreme, as far as how long it's taken,” he said. “You're trying to educate or help people regulate something that they don't know about, which makes it difficult.“
A big concern from the opposition is traffic safety.
“People going into a lounge, smoking or whatever you do in there, and then getting back in the car. And that's inappropriate. I discourage that. But I keep reminding people, ‘Have you heard of a bar?’” Segerblom said. “And that's what people do, they drive up to a bar, they go in, they have a few drinks, get back to the car, they drive off. That's not appropriate either. So we have to be a little bit realistic about how these things are going to function.“
Since legalization in Nevada, there hasn’t been an increase in DUIs from cannabis, said Tina Ulman, the president of the Chamber of Commerce.
But just in case, there are measures to help reduce any risk, Segerblom said.
The “budtenders,” as they’re called, will be trained to look out for inebriation, and the lounges will allow for ridesharing and taxis. They’ll also allow customers to leave their car on the property for up to 24 hours.
“We're gonna bend over backwards to make sure that doesn't happen,” he said. “But as I think [Clark County Commissioner Justin] Jones pointed out, we got to consider using the same rules for bars, because truthfully, the same issues arise there and right now, there is no regulation. … It's gonna be like a bar where people have to judge for themselves.”
At the lounges, no alcohol or nicotine products will be sold or consumed.
“I think everyone in this space is about responsible adult use,” Ulman said. “First and foremost, we all understand that this is a privilege license. And we're building an industry that's never been built before. Health and safety is always a top priority of our civil servants and also our operators and leaders. We've seen that in the last six years with adult use cannabis being legal.“
She said before dispensaries opened, residents were concerned with lowered property values and crime, which didn’t come to fruition.
“We've earned the right to have these lounges. We've earned the right not to be criminalized and we've earned the right to have somewhere to consume safely,” she said. “It is slowly happening, but we should be leading the way throughout the entire United States. We lead the way in gaming, adult entertainment, dining, why would we not?”
She expects about 10 lounges to open quickly. Then, it’ll be slow to see more due to the nature of a cash business. The Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board is accepting license applications from Oct. 14 through 27.
Tick Segerblom, commissioner, Clark County; Tina Ulman, president, Chamber of Cannabis
