For a place known as Sin City, Las Vegas has some very challenging laws. The city, especially the Las Vegas Strip, is not the do-what-you-want free-for-all many believe it to be.
In fact, you can be fined or even arrested for simply not walking on the famed 4.2-mile stretch of road. That’s a rule designed to give police another tool they can use during crowded events, but it’s an awfully authoritarian idea in a place known for debauchery.
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The reality is that the Strip actually offers controlled debauchery. You can wake up hung over with a good story, or get married to a stranger, but there are all sorts of rules.
Prostitution, for example, is prevalent, but technically illegal. If you attend a major trade show like CES or World of Concrete, “working” women will be obvious, and men do disappear to bring them back to their rooms, but it needs to be kept pretty discreet.Â
The same goes for cannabis consumption. Nevada has fully legalized recreational marijuana, but it has strict rules about where you can consume it.
It’s not legal to smoke in any place besides a private home. A hotel room does not count and technically, you are not allowed to smoke outside.
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In reality, the police are not going to stop someone who smokes a joint or even a bong on the Las Vegas Strip. This has left the entire city reeking of marijuana.Â
That’s something a new law was designed to fix.
Planet 13 has been a wild success, as has its consumption lounge.
Image source: Planet 13
Cannabis consumption lounges come to Las Vegas
You cannot operate any sort of cannabis-based business directly on the Las Vegas Strip. That has not stopped a number of shady places from selling what they try to pass off as cannabis, but legally is not.
It’s all very confusing because most people have not studied the difference between products with a THC derivative and items without.Â
But if you visit a proper dispensary like Planet 13, which is about a mile off the Strip, you know you’re getting the real thing. That location also has a lounge where you can legally consume what you have purchased.
Las Vegas approved consumption lounges under some very strict rules last year. It was assumed that these would all be very successful because people would want to legally enjoy whatever marijuana-based purchase they made.
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Just as many people overestimated legal cannabis’ potential to disrupt the illegal cannabis industry, their hopes about consumption lounges are being dashed.
Consumption lounges have been slow to open, partially due to how the law is written, and the first one to open near the Strip did not meet initial success. In fact, it has closed its doors.
First consumption lounge opened, closes
It was assumed that many consumption lounges would open next to affiliated dispensaries. Basically, that would be like a hot dog stand offering tables and chairs for people to eat at.
Sure, some would opt to eat on the go, but more would sit down, maybe order a beverage, and enjoy their meal.
Consumption lounges were meant to be bar-like environments (without alcohol) where people could smoke (or otherwise ingest) their cannabis purchases around like-minded people.
Smoke and Mirrors at Thrive Cannabis Marketplace was the epitome of that model, and its near-the-Strip location was a good spot, since no consumption lounge can be legally located within 1,500 feet of a casino.
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The company, which has not taken down its website, has closed with no warning. It opened about a year ago with strong promise.
“We’ve opened our doors to offer an exclusive sanctuary for enthusiasts and newcomers alike to explore, enjoy, and relax in a mesmerizing environment,” the company shared on its website.
Its owners have not responded to a request from the Las Vegas Review-Journal for comment.
