Many weed lovers are rejoicing in the fact that Las Vegas City Council has finally approved Marijuana consumption lounges. With this, Las Vegas has become the first city in the state of Nevada to allow marijuana social-use lounges.
The Las Vegas City Council passed the resolution on May 1, following a 4-1 vote in favor of the same.
Who all can open a marijuana lounge in Vegas?
Presently, only those individuals or businesses who have already been approved to run a dispensary are eligible to apply for a lounge license. However, this rule is valid only for the first year; so more people may be able to apply for the same in 2020.
Business owners though must apply to the city for a special use permit, which costs $5,000 annually.
Notably, there are currently 12 operational dispensaries in Las Vegas.
Given below are a few rules that marijuana consumption lounges need to follow if they are willing to operate in the city:
1) Only adults aged 21 or over are allowed to enter the lounges.
2) No lounge will sell or provide cannabis. All customers are expected to bring their own flowers.
3) No marijuana consumption lounge can be within 1,000 feet from schools and casinos. Furthermore, a separation of 300 feet is a must from other protected institutions, viz. churches.
4) Lounges can sell paraphernalia
5) Smoking is not allowed outside the lounge and alcohol is prohibited on property.
6) In no case, the smoking activity taking place inside the lounges should be visible to the public walking/driving by.
7) All marijuana lounges need to meet strict requirements for fire safety, odor control, air quality, security and sanitation.
The issue of whether or not to allow for marijuana consumption lounges has become increasingly common in legal places. Until now, there are only a handful of lounges in existence.
Scot Rutledge, a cannabis business representative and advocate, believes that the topic of consumption lounges often gets stuck in a self-defeating cycle.
“On the one hand, many local governments note lack of data as one reason to avoid allowing lounges. However, that very decision makes it harder to create the data many lawmakers want to see.”
Perhaps, Las Vegas’s decision will help provide the much-needed data for other cities and states considering marijuana lounges.
