Will cannabis sales skyrocket in Las Vegas, Nevada?

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The cannabis industry in Las Vegas, Nevada is heavily dependent on the tourism industry, but the COVID-19 pandemic cut tourism by 50% in 2020. Fast forward to October 2021 and tourism will pick up speed again. In fact, the cannabis industry is gathering in Las Vegas next month for the biggest annual event – MJBizCon – which is sure to grow sales. However, tourist cannabis sales are soaring beyond MJBizCon, and a new state law allowing consumption lounges is making many Las Vegas people predict that cannabis sales will skyrocket soon.

12 months in the Las Vegas cannabis industry

How did Las Vegas get here – on the brink of skyrocketing cannabis sales and claiming the title of post-COVID-19 cannabis tourism capital in the United States? The truth is, a lot has happened in Nevada’s cannabis industry since November 2020. Let’s take a closer look at the past 12 months.

COVID-19, roadside delivery and collection

By the fourth quarter of 2020, most Las Vegas cannabis licensees had switched their business to meet critical COVID-19 changes and requirements. For example, before the pandemic, supplies were a smaller part of many pharmacies and retailers in Las Vegas. Both Curaleaf and Planet 13 Las Vegas Pharmacies told the Las Vegas Sun that they were making more deliveries than ever in December 2020 – about 1,000 a month for Curaleaf, which brought new growth to the company’s two Las Vegas pharmacies.

Prior to COVID-19, Planet 13’s Las Vegas pharmacy relied on tourists for 85% of its sales, according to the Las Vegas Sun, but it had 30 delivery vehicles by the end of 2020. The pharmacy built a local customer base and a robust delivery and curb business. The drive-thru service and roadside collection for cannabis dispensaries were approved by an emergency ordinance in the state in May 2020 and made permanent by the Las Vegas city council in March 2021 (local delivery business) when tourism returns to normal.

Social inequality

In January 2021, the Nevada cannabis industry received some bad news and bad press when a report by the Cannabis Compliance Board was released highlighting the racial inequality among the state’s licensees. According to the report, most of the cannabis industry operators in the state, including Las Vegas in Clark County, are white men aged 34 or older.

Fortunately, in August 2021, the Clark County Commission unanimously voted to use all proceeds over $ 12 million each year for social programs. In 2021, Clark County is expected to allocate nearly $ 6 million that will be used to help those who are adversely affected by marijuana laws, as well as to combat unlicensed cannabis sales.

Possession Penalties for Minors and Driving Under Influence

In June 2021, Nevada Governor Steve Sisloak signed law lowering penalties for minors in possession of cannabis and revised the state’s cannabis DUI (Driving Under the Influence) rules. The new law to reduce petty possession penalties went into effect on October 1st. It lifts jail sentences and fines, limits community service to 24 hours, and requires perpetrators to take part in a victim’s impact panel or undergo an investigation to determine if they have a substance abuse disorder.

The Cannabis DUI Act changes how traffic violations are handled in the state. Under the new law, driving with traces of THC or its metabolites is no longer a violation of the law per se under certain circumstances. As a violation in itself, it was illegal to drive a car with traces of THC or THC metabolites in a driver’s blood or urine, whether or not the driver showed signs of impairment.

The problem with this law was that many research studies over the years have shown that traces of THC or its metabolites can appear in a person’s blood or urine if not affected. As a result, people can test positive when they are not under the influence. The new law is intended to help reduce the number of incorrect violations.

Consumer lounges could be a game changer for Las Vegas

Las Vegas has had a reputation as a cannabis tourist hotspot since adult marijuana was legalized in 2017. The problem was that tourists could buy cannabis in Las Vegas and across Nevada, but it couldn’t be legally consumed anywhere. The law made it illegal to use cannabis anywhere except in a private residence, leaving many tourists with no choice. As a result, the Vegas Strip is inextricably linked to the smell of cannabis, as both tourists and locals publicly smoke it on the streets.

The solution to the problem and possibly a game changer for Las Vegas is the consumer lounge license. Governor Steve Sisolak signed Assembly Bill 341 on Friday June 4, 2021, which gave the Cannabis Compliance Board the authority to license and regulate lounges for cannabis use. The new law is expected to attract more tourists to Las Vegas as a cannabis-friendly city and cannabis destination.

Two types of business licenses are offered for consumption lounges in Nevada:

• Retail consumption lounges on the same property as a licensed retail location with a one-time, non-refundable registration fee of $ 100,000
• Standalone, standalone consumer lounges limited to single use products with a one-time, non-refundable registration fee of $ 10,000

There are 20 standalone lounge license licenses, at least 50% of which must be given to social justice applicants. There is no limit to the number of lounge licenses for retailers, but an owner group can only have one lounge license regardless of how many retail locations it has. In addition, a person cannot hold a retailer consumption lounge license and an independent consumption lounge license.

The Cannabis Compliance Board will determine which cannabis products can be consumed in lounges and how much, but only cannabis products purchased in the lounge are allowed. Alcohol is not allowed in any lounge. In terms of location, lounges must not be opened within 300 feet of a school, 100 feet of a “community facility”, or 500 feet of a business with a full gaming license.

The Cannabis Compliance Board expects to start issuing licenses in the first half of 2022, but getting a state license is only the first step. Owners must also obtain a local license from the community in which they wish to open a lounge. This shouldn’t be an issue in Las Vegas, where Clark County Commissioner Tick Segerblom has announced he will be working with the county to ensure its ordinance is in line with the state so consumption lounges can be up and running quickly.

What a difference a year makes for cannabis in Las Vegas

From overcoming pandemic challenges to preparing for the rollout of consumption lounges, the past year in the Las Vegas cannabis industry has been filled with both challenges and opportunities. Time will certainly tell, but by 2022 the city’s industry appears well positioned to become a popular cannabis tourist destination, where cannabis sales are likely to skyrocket.