Nevada issues first licenses for cannabis consumption lounges

Las Vegas visitors will soon have places to legally smoke weed as Nevada regulators have granted the state’s first three conditional licenses for cannabis consumption lounges. The Nevada Cannabis Control Board (CCB) granted two licenses for Las Vegas Valley businesses, while the remaining license was for a lounge in Washoe County in the northwest corner of Nevada.

Before inviting guests to light the fire, the three Nevada companies must first obtain local approval and undergo a final inspection by CCB board agents. However, after the board approves the conditional licenses at a June 20 meeting, the lounges can complete the planning and construction of their locations and prepare to open.

“Receiving this approval from the state allows us to proceed with the final design and build out of our consumption lounge,” said Larry Scheffler, co-CEO of Planet 13, a pharmacy complex near the Las Vegas Strip, which received one of two licenses granted has in Clark County. “The consumption lounge will be a major step in realizing the SuperStore’s full potential as a cannabis destination. It will give customers the opportunity to try products before they buy, watch live entertainment, and enjoy food and drink in a convivial environment that lives up to Planet 13’s incredible experience design standard.”

David Farris, vice president of sales and marketing at Planet 13, said the company is still in the planning and construction stages for its lounge. The company had originally considered a restaurant concept for its lounge, but at the CCB meeting Leighton Koehler, Planet 13’s general counsel, told the board that the company is considering a range of ideas, from a “modest” tasting room to to a more immersive nightclub experience.

“It’s a tough deal, set the math (decision) — we’re still looking at that and trying to decide how much it’ll cost to implement,” Koehler said during the meeting.

Officials from the vertically integrated cannabis company said they plan to submit their plans to Clark County for review by county officials in the coming weeks, which could take several months. Neither Planet 13 nor Thrive Cannabis Marketplace, the second company to get a cannabis consumption lounge in Clark County, have set an expected opening date. Thrive hopes to open its lounge on Sammy Davis Jr. Boulevard in time for the cannabis industry’s MJ Biz Con show in late November.

Chris LaPorte, managing partner of Reset, a cannabis consultancy that represents Thrive, said the company’s 3,000-square-foot Smoke and Mirrors lounge area is a place for “cannacurious” tourists to learn about various marijuana products without having to go to a pharmacy.

“It’s just a vibe,” LaPorte said. “It’s like any other hospitality in Las Vegas nightlife, but instead of a liquor bar, it’s cannabis as a social lubricant.”

Edward Alexander, the owner of SoL Cannabis in Washoe County, said he envisioned his business as a gathering place for the community, but many customers questioned why they weren’t allowed to consume the products they found at the dispensary had bought.

“Every weekend during the summer we make music at our facility,” Alexander said during Tuesday’s CCB meeting, as quoted by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “And every weekend the grumpy old tattooed hippie is out there and says, ‘I know you’re at Disneyland, but you can’t ride the rides.'”

At its June 20 meeting, the CCB also amended the air quality regulations for cannabis consumption lounges, reducing the required number of air changes per hour from 30 to 20 air changes per hour in smoking areas and from 20 to six air changes per hour in non-smoking areas. The change will “allow for greater flexibility in ventilation requirements for cannabis consumption lounges and further lower the barriers to entry for all potential licensees, including social justice applicants,” according to the board. Officials made the change after applicants for the lounge licenses said it would be too expensive to build air conditioning to meet the stricter requirements.

“If you’re moving air every minute or two, that presents a huge power consumption challenge,” LaPorte said.

Late last year, the CCB conducted a digital sweepstakes to select 40 companies for potential cannabis use lounge licenses, “via a random number selector to determine the issuance of independent cannabis use lounge licenses to non-social justice applicants and social justice applicants.” . an opinion from the agency. Prospective license holders must submit all required documents for a proficiency test by CCB board representatives in order to obtain a conditional license.