It’s way too early in this game to answer these questions with anything but speculation; the law doesn’t take effect until the new year; beyond that, there’s a long way to go to settle these issues.
Still, Nevada isn’t exactly breaking ground here. We can look to Colorado, Washington, and Oregon to see how they’ve handled these things.
These states leave the decision on whether or not to allow smoking on the premises to the hotels themselves. Also, as might be expected, there are no universally enforced protocols within the hospitality industry as to smoking marijuana inside hotel and motel rooms for medical or recreational purposes.
It seems that the hotels in Colorado and Washington have no problem with possession (it is legal, within limits, after all), but here are the various policies we found.
Almost every hotel we found with smoking rooms and stated marijuana policies tolerate tobacco smoking, but not cannabis. Some require guests in smoking rooms to sign an agreement that they won’t smoke marijuana in the rooms; if they do, they forfeit their incidentals deposits. Others charge a $250 service fee for any photo evidence of marijuana possession following a smell complaint. Some allow the use of medicinal marijuana with a note from a medical doctor, but most take action if they receive smell complaints, though the staff must find visual evidence before they consider fining or evicting the guests.
In Colorado especially, with its huge tourist market, cannabis-friendly lodgings in a mix of commercial hotels/motels and private properties such as B&Bs and VRBOs (Vacation Rentals by Owner), allow on-site marijuana consumption.
But really, smoke -- actual billowing clouds from the incomplete combustion of the leaves of wacky weed -- is so 1980s. In today’s marijuana culture, if you want to get a buzz on, who needs smoke and aroma?
Vaporizer pens, for example, give off no smoke and very little odor. You can also buy oil, wax, or shatter concentrates to use with the pen. People we know (ahem) have used these many times in non-smoking rooms and other public places with no problem, even in states where pot’s illegal (which was, of course, the case everywhere up until very recently, creating the need for these evidence-free alternatives).
In addition, there’re always the edibles. Virtually anything with butter or oil in the recipe can be infused with marijuana. Everything from chocolate to gummy bears are sold commercially.
Then there’re ingestible oils taken in capsules and with plastic applicators; tinctures that you put under your tongue (very fast-acting and great for pain relief); topicals (which also treat pain, but without the psychoactive effects); and dabbing (but that’s another story).
