Las Vegas is set to see its first legal cannabis consumption lounge open after Nevada regulators issued the first of what is expected to be dozens of licences.
Nevada, which passed legislation allowing adult-use consumption lounges to be rolled out back in 2021, has so far issued 19 ‘conditional’ licenses, but issued the first full license on February 15.
Following a final inspection, the Cannabis Compliance Board gave Thrive Cannabis Marketplace, the state’s largest independently owned cannabis business, the green light to launch its consumption lounge, now expected to open in late February.
The venue, dubbed ‘Smoke and Mirrors’, is expected to be the start of a new tourist attraction for Nevada.
While adult-use cannabis is legal for adults over the age of 21, there are tight restrictions on where cannabis can be consumed.
Public consumption, including in hotels and casinos, is strictly prohibited, meaning tourists are often left with no place to consume the cannabis they have legally purchased. Consumption lounges such as Smoke and Mirrors are expected to change this dynamic.
“It’s more than a venue, it’s a platform for the cannabis industry as a whole, where tourists and locals alike can be a part of a new chapter in the evolution of hospitality,” Chris LaPorte, managing partner of cannabis hospitality company RESET, told the Associated Press.
