When Will the Cannabis Lounges Open?

Most hotels still have cigarette smoking rooms and plenty of people come to Las Vegas and buy pot at the many dispensaries around the city. But they still don't have a place where they can legally smoke. Wouldn't a casino be able to charge a premium on rooms where pot smoking was permitted?

And

When are the marijuana lounges going to open in Las Vegas? Haven't they been threatening to open for two years or so? What's the hang-up?

The answer to the first question is, hotel-casinos in the Silver State don't open cannabis-smoking rooms mainly because it has nothing to do with smoking and/or room rates and everything to do with gaming licenses, which are a privilege in Nevada, not a right.

Cannabis is still illegal -- in fact, a Schedule 1 controlled substance, like heroin, LSD, mescaline, Ecstasy, and Quaaludes -- on the federal level, which is why gaming regulators have ruled that a clear hard line must be drawn between the casino and marijuana industries. In case of a crackdown by the feds, the casinos will be safely out of harm's way.

Casino owners haven't protested the edict. Why not? They too want to keep the feds off their backs.

So until the wacky weed is removed from federal regulation, where it's been since the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937, cannabis will be a no-go for Nevada casino owners and you won't see pot-smoking rooms for rent at their hotels (though, of course, plenty of pot smoking is going on in casino-hotel rooms all over the place all the time, as it always has).

As for the smoking lounges, the Nevada Legislature passed a bill last year permitting lounges to open on Oct. 1, 2021, but it appears to us that the state is no hurry to finalize the policies regulating them.

Of course, a number of issues have to be resolved and last year, over the span of four months, the state Cannabis Advisory Commission held a series of meetings to study and discuss issues involving public health, public safety, and social equity as they relate to consumption lounges. On March 22, the Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board (CCB) held its second public workshop regarding regulations surrounding the licensing and operation of cannabis-consumption lounges. In all, Commission and the Board have held 14 public meetings.

Our understanding is that the policies and regulations could be ready in mid-June and the application and initial licensing process could commence within a few months of that. As for Las Vegas, the city and county have to approve locations; they can also impose more restrictions than at the state level. So though it's anyone's guess when pot aficionados will have a public place to ingest in southern Nevada, at least statewide, lounges could open in the next, say, four to five months.

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Comments

Donzack Apr-02-2022

Deodorize

First some lab has to figure out how to deodorize the stuff.

black jack Apr-02-2022

Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em

NUWU dispenpsary  has had a “tasting room” for a few years now where anybody of age can partake…

Luis Apr-02-2022

Pot everywhere!

I was in vegas last weekend, and wow, pot everywhere, at the Bellagio fountains I couldn't even enjoy the show ( and they where showing my to favorite fountain shows, Viva Las Vegas and Fly me to the moon, back to back), to much pot stink!, everywhere up and down the street and on the pedestrian bridges pot smoking.

Ray Apr-02-2022

As Luis says

Since nobody stops anyone from stinking up the whole strip, why would they care if a "lounge" opened up? They have a free run everywhere. They'll just keep doing it outside.

rokgpsman Apr-02-2022

Weed usage can devolve into seedy conditions

If federal law is changed and marijuana becomes legal then the use of pot will become as ordinary as tobacco. Not sure this will be seen as a positive enhancement for the Vegas visitor that actually spends money gambling, eating and attending shows. My experience with folks that smoke weed for hours a day is they aren't into spending much money on things the casino and tourism industry wants visitors to be doing. The freedom to do what you comes at a cost, and giving Vegas spenders another reason to enjoy themselves elsewhere at some other city isn't good for Vegas. just my two cents...

Kevin Lewis Apr-02-2022

Stoners don't spend $$$

For that reason, the casinos' controlled substance of choice for visitors will always be alcohol. Booze blots out your higher brain functions while making you aggressive and reckless--the perfect casino customer, in other words. Pot makes you zone out and raid the fridge.

And let's not pretend that laws, state or federal, are constraining pot. In Nevada, the casinos ARE the law. What them wants, them gets. So no pot lounges is because they don't WANT pot lounges. Period.

Jeff Apr-02-2022

Legal weed will just be a new opportunity for casinos to exploit

Kevin and a couple of other commenters aren't giving the casinos enough credit for their ingenious, if diabolical, ability to monetize new trends and life styles. Who da thunk that the old Vegas that made all its money on gambling and that gave away everything else could change in less than a decade to making everything else its major profit centers?

I wouldn't bet against the casinos to be capable of innovating loathsome new products and services to convert the low cost activity of getting high on pot into expensive, high profit revenue streams, somehow combining getting high with sex, food, prestige, celebrities, or something entirely new that I can't imagine because I'm not a diabolical casino new products architect.

Question of the Day - 02 April 2022

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