Paul Szydelko
Las Vegas becoming the Amsterdam in the desert for cannabis tourism any time soon is still the stuff of dreams.
The first state-regulated cannabis consumption lounge to open, Thrive Cannabis Marketplace's Smoke and Mirrors, closed in April after just a little more than a year in operation.
Thrive managing partner Mitch Britten told Las Vegas Weekly that it plans to use the space as a special event venue until state regulations change to "make this license type more economically viable.
"In its current form, the regulatory framework, associated compliance costs and limitation on the types of products that can be offered simply doesn't support a sustainable business model for lounges, and we've adjusted our operations accordingly," Britten told the magazine.
The only other state-sanctioned lounge -- Dazed, at the Planet 13 dispensary -- remains open. Another, Sky High Lounge, open since 2019, isn't required to follow state regulations because it's on Las Vegas Paiute land downtown.
Recreational cannabis was legalized statewide in 2017, and Nevada legislators approved the consumption lounge licensing program in 2021. But cannabis is still classified on the federal level as a Schedule 1 controlled substance, alongside heroin and LSD, and it's still illegal to consume outside of private properties -- leaving tourists to light up in garages and sidewalks.
Riana Durrett
I recently spoke with Riana Durrett, former director of the Nevada Dispensary Association and current director of the Cannabis Policy Institute at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, to better understand the intersection of cannabis and tourism. The conversation was edited for brevity and clarity.
Q: What should tourists know about cannabis consumption when they visit?
A. Public consumption isn't legal, and delivery to a hotel is not legal. You can find places that will deliver very easily, and they look like a sophisticated licensed business, but it's not legal. So if they're willing to deliver to your hotel, then it's not a legal licensed dispensary.
Q: Why has one lounge already failed and more lounges haven't opened?
A. It is a very difficult business model. ... It is extremely difficult to make money off this product. First, you're buying it at retail, so the price is going to be marked up. And people are not interested in going to a location to consume, because normal American behavior is that cannabis is a very widely used product, and it's used wherever you want to use it.
People are not abstaining from cannabis just because consumption lounges didn't exist. So there really wasn't much of a need for just a lounge to consume if that's all it offers, or if it doesn't offer much more than that. People need a reason to go there. I keep plagiarizing this quote, but we don't call Allegiant Stadium an alcohol consumption lounge. People can consume alcohol there, but they went there for something else.
Q: So the demand for lounges just may not be there?
A. If the reason for the lounge is just to consume cannabis, people are not attracted to that. They don't need it, because they will consume wherever they want to consume, especially with the surge of vape products, where the smell is not as much of an issue, and edible products. It's much more discreet than it used to be, so there's not a need for this place to hide away cannabis consumption. … There are absolutely vast opportunities for cannabis tourism, but it's not the consumption lounge model.
Q: What other challenges does the legal cannabis industry face in Nevada?
A. Cannabis tourism opportunities are being greatly limited in Nevada for two reasons: Access is very limited -- there are restrictions related to (casino) gaming that limits access. Where the legal industry is limited, the illegal market will step in. Those limitations don't necessarily reduce sales or consumption. They just impact who's doing the sales. So for example, delivery to the Strip corridor is banned: There are certainly deliveries to the Strip corridor, but they're just by unlicensed retailers.
Q: Rescheduling at the federal level seems to have lost momentum, right?
A. It's definitely stalled. Some people believe it will still go forward. On the table is something called the Prepare Act (in which) Congress would create a commission to study the myriad issues around cannabis legalization. Some people may think this is kind of feeble, to create a commission around it, but I do think that would be a significant step because there are so many complicated issues, including the surge of psychoactive hemp products. That industry is booming, and it is very present in Nevada.
There are psychoactive products derived from hemp that are very easily accessible. They're available at smoke shops, and that is not regulated like the cannabis industry. That is a whole new world that nobody is prepared for -- none of the states, [not] the federal government. So I think this Prepare Act is a really good way to address [that].