Las Vegas, really the whole state of Nevada, has been an odd place for cannabis operators. The state has legalized recreational marijuana, but it has never legalized consumption lounges.
That's not a problem for locals, who can consume their cannabis at home, but it has created a difficult situation for the many guests staying at hotels.
They can buy all sorts of cannabis products -- everything from edibles to vapes, and traditional smokeable versions of marijuana -- but if they opt for the smokeable variety, there's no actual legal place to smoke it.
IM Cannabis
Cannabis Consumption and Las Vegas
This, as you might imagine, has led to a lot of the Las Vegas Strip smelling like a Grateful Dead concert. The problem is that casino operators including MGM Resorts International (MGM), Caesars Entertainment (CZR), and Wynn (WYNN), which together control an awful lot of The Strip, don't want customers leaving their properties.
If, for example, Planet 13 (PLNHF) , the huge Las Vegas dispensary, added a consumption lounge, then its visitors might spend significantly more time at the dispensary. That's time they're not on the casino floor, eating in casino restaurants, or otherwise spending money with Caesars, MGM, Wynn, or any other big operator.
That's something that's expected to change soon as new legislation has been passed "giving recreational cannabis business owners the ability to apply for licenses to open on-site consumption lounges," Eater reported.
"Planet 13 Marijuana Dispensary already plans to open a consumption lounge at its dispensary on Desert Inn Road just west of the Las Vegas Strip," MJ Biz Daily reported.
"The dispensary plans to build a 20,000-square-foot lounge with a four-inch-deep indoor splash pool with a 5,000-square-foot outdoor balcony. A skywalk connects the consumption lounge to the dispensary."
Now, a hotel operator, which owns a "cannabis-friendly hotel in Phoenix, has purchased a boutique hotel just off the Las Vegas Strip.
What's a Cannabis-Friendly Hotel?
Pro Hospitality Group Owner Alex Rizk has purchased the 64-room Artisan hotel at Sahara Avenue and Interstate 15 for $11.9 million, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. Rizk's company owns the Clarendon Hotel in Phoenix, which it describes as "cannabis-friendly."
"Our rooms and property are going cannabis-friendly. Coming offerings include a cannabis shuttle and a membership lounge," Pro Hospitality Group shared on the Clarendon website.
Rizk told the newspaper that he plans to spend $3 million to renovate the property, which he expects to make cannabis-friendly pending legislation that would allow that to happen.
"For our cannabis-friendly rooms, we allow vaping, dabbing, flower, etc. We do not allow tobacco products to be smoked in the room due to the lasting smell and residue," The Clarendon shared on its website.
"Since we are currently a split-use hotel with cannabis and non-smoking rooms, we do ask that any smoking take place in your cannabis-friendly room and not in the public areas of the hotel. Vapes and smokeless products can be used in outdoor public areas, not including the restaurant."
