Cannabis lounges are finally legal in Las Vegas – so when do they open?
Recent news that marijuana lounges have been legalized in Las Vegas may have sparked negative déjà vu among cannabis users. That is understandable.
We’ve heard this story before. Vegas is said to have legalized weed lounges back in 2017. And again in 2019.
The new law allows up to 70 cannabis lounges nationwide. The law comes into force on October 1, 2021.
The first failed attempt to create marijuana lounges came when Nevada’s then Republican governor shot down an attempt by Senator Tick Segerblom, Nevada’s godfather to legal weed, to make it happen. The second and most painful lounge debacle came after Las Vegas city officials passed an ordinance two years ago that would allow only state-level gambling-backed politicians to step in and repeal.
July 1st marks the fourth anniversary of the Silver State’s adult sales launch. And yet there is still no place for tourists to enjoy the plant other than a small tasting room on tribal land north of Vegas.
However, earlier this month the government finally gave the go-ahead.
Assembly Bill 341 was passed last month by the Democrat-controlled Nevada Assembly and the Senate. Governor Steve Sisolak signed it on June 4th.
The new law allows up to 70 lounges across the state – 35 for current pharmacy owners that can be hooked up to their stores and 35 standalone venues for independent owners. Customers are allowed to smoke, eat, drop, dab, or vape the plant in a weed-friendly indoor environment.
Outdoor events also allowed
A separate bill to allow cannabis at concerts and festivals failed, but part of that bill was merged into AB341. It allows licensed lounges to host outdoor marijuana events as long as the event takes place on the lounge area.
Unlike any other type of marijuana operation in Nevada, a cannabis lounge license is open to almost anyone who wishes to apply for one. So says Steve Yeager (D-Las Vegas), who sponsored the law. Yeager said he hoped more women and minority entrepreneurs would get involved as owners of cannabis companies.
“We decided to offer a lounge for each owner group and to compare this one-to-one with independent lounges,” said Yeager. “We were tired of waiting and just did everything we could to finally get this to happen and get signed.
Act comes into force on October 1, 2021
The new law will only come into force on October 1, 2021. Yeager and other officials interviewed, including Clark County Commissioner Tick Segerblom, said they don’t expect the first lounges to open until spring 2022 at the earliest.
The bill also calls for the Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board (CCB) to develop a legal framework for cannabis lounges. That includes deciding how much weed people can buy or bring in the lounges. Most importantly, the role of the CCB is to define what a “social justice claimant” means.
Definition of an equity applicant
Is it just a matter of race and gender? Or does it take into account personal experience of being jailed for possession of cannabis in the past? Yeager said he was leaving the language of the bill open to give flexibility to CCB executives.
A CCB spokeswoman said board members had yet to begin drafting regulations but offered that “all under-represented groups and those adversely affected by the cannabis ban” would be included in the final social justice rules.
Some in the industry doubt that. They claim the new law is ripe for corruption, much like the infamous 2018 licensing scandal which, while offering additional points for diversity, puts all remaining state pharmacy permits in the hands of less than 12% of companies that apply to have. All but one of the victorious companies had white men as majority owners.
$ 10,000 for a lounge permit
Expensive lounge fees can also deter minority applicants from applying, said Timothy Eliado, Vegas medical cannabis activist. Lounge permit winners owe $ 10,000 for business opening only and an additional $ 10,000 for annual renewal of their permits. The law requires that “some” applicants for social justice reduce “up to” 75% of these fees, without giving any details.
“Minorities have been pushed out of the industry, while licensees have had the opportunity to raise money through their businesses over the years,” said Eliado. “Real social justice means that people who have helped make this industry equal.”
Shop owners are unsure about adding lounges
Interviewed pharmacy owners in Sin City said little about their plans for the new lounges, the introduction date of which is still a long way off. After several years of no competition, many cannabis store owners are still deciding whether or not it is worth investing in a consumption room.
“You need to find out if you can make money out of it,” said David Goldwater, owner of Inyo Fine cannabis dispensary right on the Strip.
The reserve’s 12 rooms are waiting
However, at least one Vegas lounge is ready to open. The Reserve, a 12-room, 7,000-square-foot entertainment venue on the second floor above the Nevada Wellness Center, has been vacant for two years. Owner Frank Hawkins, a former NFL running back turned weed mogul, expanded the lounge back in 2019 after receiving a thumbs up from Vegas city council.
A dimly lit common room – with pub-style lights, a number of TVs, and a mega projector – greets customers as they walk in. A dozen doors lead through narrow corridors on either side of a 2,500 square meter common area to individual rooms for people who want to shine privately.
Life-size images of marijuana folk heroes Bob Marley, Willie Nelson and Barack Obama fill the Reserve’s “boardroom” and leather executive chairs surround an oval wood-grain table in the center of the room. Hawkins says groups can enjoy doing business here while surrounded by some of the most influential faces in history.
Welcome to the raider room
“We want this to be inspiring,” he said, “to remind people of the possibilities when you bring bright minds together.”
In the hallway, wall stickers by Bo Jackson, Al Davis, Marcus Allen, Jim Plunkett and Hawkins themselves glow amid a flood of silver and black legends that adorn the lounge’s Raider Room. A microphone with a matching pop filter hangs from the ceiling in the Reserve’s recording studio, and another room offers open space and a pair of virtual reality glasses for a stoned VR adventure. Hawkins has also reserved space for dominoes and has placed a shuffleboard table in the main lobby.
He hopes the officials don’t pull the rug out from under him again like they did in 2019. Until the reservation opens its stores and the first customers come through, Hawkins remains – like most of us – a skeptic.
“I’ll believe it when it happens,” he said. “There is still a way to go and we all know by now that it is never guaranteed.”
Chris Kudialis
Chris Kudialis is a Las Vegas cannabis reporter. He has written articles for the Los Angeles Times, Las Vegas Sun, Charlotte Observer, Houston Chronicle, Detroit Free Press, and the Brazilian Rio Times, among others.
View article by Chris Kudialis
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