Cannabis consumption lounges are coming to the city of Las Vegas. In a recent vote by the City Council, it was determined that these businesses will now be allowed. The vote came out 5-1 in favor of allowing cannabis lounges throughout the bustling city.
These new consumption lounges will allow customers to freely and legally smoke marijuana within their property’s borders. Since legalization in 2016, recreational cannabis users were not able to consume the drug anywhere but inside their homes. These new consumption lounges mark the first-place cannabis users will be able to consume legally that is outside their homes.
In a statement from city officials, they claimed that these consumption lounges were necessary due to the amount of tourism the city receives. Of the 40 million tourists that visit each year, they have nowhere to smoke their legal recreational marijuana. This would often lead to tourists smoking illegally in parking lots, on the street, or even in hotel rooms. Consumption lounges look to solve this problem, streamlining the consumption of marijuana in Vegas.
As of right now the city plans on handing most of the consumption licenses to places that are currently attached or adjacent to dispensaries. This would allow tourists to smoke the weed right where they bought it and avoiding the possibility of getting in trouble with the law. Another benefit to giving these licenses to dispensaries is that it will keep the consumption lounges near the tourist areas and away from the residential areas. This was a large concern for a couple city council members due to the disdain those in residential areas expressed for the tourists.
Many other cities around the US have been experimenting with consumption lounges such as NYC and other places in California. They have been very beneficial in keeping consumers off the streets and giving them a safe space to smoke.
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