LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Leaders from the Entertainment Capital of the World and Nevada paid a visit to the first-ever cannabis lounge at the California State Fair, looking for solutions to launch and regulate pop-up lounges across the Silver State.
In 2023, lawmakers proposed mobile cannabis lounges before the Legislature. The bill did not make it through the session.
Clark County Chair Tick Segerblom, Nevada House Speaker Steve Yeager, State Sen. Dallas Harris and various Clark County business license officials paid a visit to the cannabis exhibit and lounge in Sacramento. Attendees must be 21 and older. California state regulators are on site, making sure product is properly sold and used in designated areas.
There are plans to propose another bill for the 2025 legislative session, according to Segerblom.
“We have a history of this. When we first started out in 2013 [to legalize dispensaries], we went to Phoenix to see how they did it down there. We came back to Carson City, and based upon that knowledge, that’s how we got the bill passed. The thought was, let’s see how it works. And if it seems simple enough, they can take it to Carson City and do it again,” Segerblom said.
“It’s controlled access. You have fences around it so people can’t get in. You have placed security guards to make sure that that you’re nothing unusual happens,” Segerblom said. There are separate rooms or tents for purchase, consumption of edibles as well as smoking.
Segerblom tells FOX5, now that Clark County has launched two marijuana lounges, it will be easier to launch pop-up tents in areas with demand: Electric Daisy Carnival, events at the Las Vegas Festival Grounds, and MJ Con– the large cannabis convention.
The launch of lounges has faced lots of scrutiny from law enforcement and the Cannabis Compliance Board, requiring heavy regulations to prevent DUIs and customers from driving while high. Segerblom argues that large festivals are good places for pop-up lounges, where tourists often stay for hours, a whole day or even days.
“They’re actually contained. They’re either going to walk back to hotel or leave EDC and take a bus or a helicopter. They’re probably the best venue to use this, and they already they have bars there,” Segerblom said.
No word yet who could sponsor a bill in 2025, Segerblom said.
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