Ever since Assembly Bill 341 passed last June, paving the way for cannabis consumption lounges, Nevadans have been ablaze with questions. When will they open? Who gets to open one? What will they be like? Here’s a breakdown as we prepare for lounges to open around town.

When will cannabis consumption lounges open? One already has. The Las Vegas Paiute Tribe’s Vegas Tasting Room, at Downtown’s NuWu Cannabis Marketplace, is the only cannabis consumption lounge to open in Las Vegas so far. But for non-tribal lounges, we’ve still got a wait. Scot Rutledge, a cannabis lobbyist and partner of Argentum Partners, says regulations still need to be finalized and approved by the Cannabis Compliance Board (CCB), but once that’s done, the application and licensing process can begin.

“We are currently finishing up our public workshop process, which has included over 14 public meetings on the topic of consumption lounges,” says Tyler Klimas, executive director for the Cannabis Compliance Board.

“Barring any unforeseen issues, it is possible we may see the first lounges open before the end of the year, possibly as early as the fall.”

The Clark County Commission will hold a workshop on April 19 to discuss its cannabis lounge ordinance with cannabis industry professionals and the general public.

Are only dispensaries allowed to open lounges? Contrary to popular belief, no. “There will be an opportunity for anybody who is interested to apply,” Rutledge says. “We’ve also tried to eliminate some of the more egregious boundaries or barriers to entry.”

This year, 10 lounge licenses for independent applicants and 10 licenses for social equity applicants will be awarded. Social equity applicants represent those who have been affected by past marijuana criminalization laws and who live in a “social equity zone,” where there’s been high numbers of marijuana-related arrests.

Rutledge speculates retail cannabis spaces might be allowed to apply for licenses first and open first, since they already have a location where the lounge can be attached. But “for the privilege of that,” he says, retail cannabis establishments will pay a $100,000 application fee, whereas independent and social equity applicants will pay $10,000 and $2,500, respectively.

It’s tough to pinpoint exactly how many retail spaces will open lounges this year, but the desire to obtain licenses is high.

“The CCB has received over 45 letters of intent from current retail establishments, signaling their interest in opening a consumption lounge,” Klimas says. “That number represents a large portion of the establishments that would qualify.”

Rutledge adds that, “A lot of them have already started building out their lounge venue. Dispensaries like Planet 13, Oasis and the Source have already announced plans to open lounges.”

One important distinction is that dispensaries only get to open one lounge, even if they have multiple dispensary locations. “They have to pick their favorite,” Rutledge says.

What could an independent consumption lounge look like? “It could be a comedy club. It could be an arts and crafts place where you come in, and you consume cannabis and paint,” Rutledge says. “It could be a yoga studio, where you consume and then go through a guided yoga practice. It could be whatever the entrepreneur thinks will work.”

But ultimately, “While these are statewide, I think most of them will exist in Southern Nevada to reintroduce the idea of what hospitality and having a night out means,” he says.

How will a lounge compare to a bar? Regulations are still being finalized for lounges, but don’t expect to see any of them opening with gaming or alcohol. Strict gaming regulations in Nevada prevent gaming licensees from getting involved with the cannabis industry. Meanwhile, the no-alcohol rule dates back to an existing regulation prohibiting alcohol from being sold at any cannabis business, Rutledge says.

Consumption lounges also have to watch their step. The CCB prohibits lounges from existing within 1,000 feet of schools, 300 feet from community facilities such as churches and 1,500 feet from gaming establishments. Lounge owners will also be required to maintain good air quality.

In terms of services, those offered by a lounge will likely feel familiar to bargoers. Customers will be able to order single-use products, which Rutledge says can vary from “one gram of usable cannabis to no more than 10 milligrams of THC in an edible product,” including beverages. He says patrons will also be able to purchase “ready to consume food and beverages.”

“You don’t order a bottle of whiskey and they give you the bottle and a glass on the bar top, and you sit there and pour it yourself,” Rutledge adds. “You order a drink of whiskey.”

Regulations for vaporizing are still being tweaked, but Rutledge says we could theoretically see patrons eventually purchasing a third of a gram for a vape pen. And ordering a dab could become like ordering a shot of alcohol.

Rutledge says proper employee training, “to ensure that they not only really understand what they’re serving but they can understand what the signs of overconsumption look like” will be imperative.

Discussions around safety while driving are still being discussed, but, “I think the cannabis industry has a chance to do something way better than the alcohol industry when it comes to being responsible about how people consume and what they do after they consume,” he says.

Addressing licensing diversity

The push for diversity in the cannabis industry remains a steady battle. A March 2022 demographic study by the CCB surveyed more than 15,000 agent card holders in the local cannabis industry. Of the 42% who responded, 55% were men, and 52% of respondents were white.

A’Esha Goins, who serves as the chair of diversity, equity and inclusion on the CCB’s Cannabis Advisory Commission, says she has been in the industry too long to be shocked by those numbers. But, “I’m not dismayed by what we see,” she says. “I’m inspired to change it.”

The Cannabis Compliance Board isn’t able to aside a specific number of licenses for diversity applicants (lobbyist Scot Rutledge says initial regulation drafts tried), but it can require more from its license holders. All applicants must submit a diversity plan, CCB Executive Director Tyler Klimas says, in which they detail employee and leadership demographics and “goals for hiring, retention and the development of diverse groups, along with proposed timelines and benchmarks.”

Diversity applicants still face an uphill battle when it comes to education and funding, though. Goins recently stepped in to help with Pathway to Ownership, a 16-week social equity cannabis education program run by her organization Cannabis Equity and Inclusion Community and funded by the county. The course walks applicants through “the whole cannabis industry,” she says, covering everything from operating procedures and coding to how to decipher regulations.

And it’s already fostering success, Goins says. “We have 13 licensees ready to go,” she says. “One of them has already been positioned as a manager in one of the dispensaries. One of them has already found funding. And one of them is negotiating an agreement to manage one of the consumption lounges.”

Goins says the CEIC will continue educating cohorts, but ultimately it all goes back to funding. Independent and social equity license holders still have to show proof of $200,000 in liquid assets and other costly documentation. Klimas says the Board can, in some cases, reduce licensing fees, but since traditional financing isn’t an option, license holders might have to lean on private capital for further funding. –Amber Sampson

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