You can buy marijuana in Las Vegas, but there is nowhere for tourists to smoke it. That is about to change.
Las Vegas has a conundrum with cannabis. The city allows the sale of marijuana for recreational use, but only allows smoking in private residences. That means people visiting the Las Vegas Strip, Fremont Street, or any other part of the city are technically breaking the law when they light up.
Now, the Las Vegas police have better things to do than arrest people for smoking marijuana, but not having places where you can legally smoke cannabis has created other problems. First, the Las Vegas Strip, really any busy place in the city that is outside, now smells like marijuana.
Second, adults who visit Las Vegas to engage in “sins” like gambling, indulgent eating, and a few alcoholic beverages don’t have to hide those things. However, tourists who have legally purchased marijuana in Las Vegas have to blatantly flout the law or smoke on corners of parking lots.
Neither of those benefit the city, and Nevada has taken steps to correct the problem. The state has set the stage for legal lounges, and two very exciting players are close to giving Las Vegas tourists a place to legally (and comfortably) light up their joints, pipes, and other methods of smoking cannabis.
planet 13
Las Vegas Getting an Upscale Cannabis-Friendly Hotel
The off-the-Strip boutique Artisan Hotel at Sahara Avenue and Interstate 15, just minutes from the Las Vegas Strip, was purchased in 2022 by Elevation Hotels and Resorts. The property will be renamed Lexi and will become a cannabis-friendly hotel.
While no specific opening date has been announced, the first of its kind for the Las Vegas hotel is expected to open in April. The 64-room hotel will have a room floor with improved air filtration and no carpeting, heavy drapes or other materials known to absorb smoke.
“We definitely want to create a more elevated experience,” Elevation CEO Alex Rizk said. weekly trips. “We include cannabis, but we don’t focus on cannabis. We want everyone, whether they want to participate or not, to feel welcome and really destigmatize the use of cannabis.”
The Lexi will also offer transportation to local dispensaries, a steakhouse run by former Hell’s Kitchen contestant Jordan Savell, and an optional European-style pool.
Planet 13 soon has a consumer lounge
While the new law will allow many dispensaries to add consumption rooms, none will be located on properties occupied by casinos. That’s not because Caesars Entertainment (CZR) – Get a free report and MGM Resorts International (MGM) – Get a free reportThe ones who rule the Strip don’t want them, it’s because cannabis is still illegal under federal law.
And while it would have been fun to see Caesars unleash a Guy Fieri-inspired cannabis lounge or something similar, the casinos won’t be participating. That leaves Planet 13 (PLNHF) the largest dispensary in Las Vegas (and a destination unto itself) as the brand building the most anticipated cannabis consumption lounge.
The company, which has its “Superstore” a mile from the Strip, has been approved by the Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board to build a lounge.
“The Planet 13 entertainment complex will be the first space of its kind where consumers can see how products are made, bought and consumed, all under one roof,” the company shared in its press release.
Planet 13 already has a restaurant and cafeteria in its Superstore. In fact, the company will give up its liquor license at its Las Vegas location to open its cannabis lounge.
“We are thrilled to move forward with our plan to bring a world-class cannabis lounge to the side of the Las Vegas Strip,” said Co-CEO Larry Scheffler. “Planet 13 has always been about delivering new and unique immersive experiences for customers. We hope to once again go further and expand people’s minds about what cannabis can be.”
