Las Vegas cannabis lounge opening highlights industry changes

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – Behind the red telephone box’s secret door and underneath the three multicolored bong chandeliers customers mingled with cannabis-infused cocktails in hand enjoying the beginning of a new budding industry.

The cannabis lounge business has had several notable openings in the Las Vegas Valley: Thrive’s Smoke and Mirrors Cannabis Lounge, NuWu’s Sky High Lounge, and Planet 13’s Dazed! Consumption Lounge.

A total of 19 cannabis lounges have been conditionally approved in Nevada, and the first regulated cannabis lounge had a noteworthy opening.

The room at Planet 13’s Dazed! Consumption Lounge appears an outlier with its large size and fun décor according to Cait Smith, Planet 13 senior marketing manager.

“You have extra entertainment, the world’s largest dispensary at your fingertips, and on top of that a curated menu,” she said. “We have a full restaurant that’s able to offer tapas and small plates for the lounge as well.”

The nuances of operating in a new industry come with new rules customers don’t often hear about, for example, the 25 employees inside are directed to go in and out of the lounge with frequency so they don’t become influenced by the products.

“It’s really exciting, it’s really energizing and also it’s a challenge,” Smith said. “We are navigating new waters and coming up with new processes and new operations that never existed before.”

Smith pointed out that safety and security were chief concerns for the company which offers multiple options for customers who don’t want to drive after partaking.

“We have an overnight no tow period so anyone can leave their car parked here overnight,” she said. “If they feel they are not ready to drive home, we also have shuttles in place as well and a program with Lyft.”

The odor mitigation machine inside the lounge worked to change the air out of the room every thirty seconds, another example Smith pointed out of following set guidelines from the Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board.

“A lot of those concerns have ended up to be the regulations per the CCB,” she said “We were able to take all those restrictions, and regulations and have them set in place for those safety measures and put those processes into place.”

The accomplishments of a regulated cannabis lounge are more than overcoming logistic challenges according to Smith—there’s overcoming the stigma as well.

“Having a regulated industry for people to purchase cannabis is one win,” she said. “Having a public space for people to come in and actively come in and meet with their peers and make that space to consume will really do wonders to break down that stigma of cannabis in general.”

Dazed! Consumption Lounge is open from Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 1 a.m., and Friday through Sunday 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. located inside Planet 13’s Entertainment Complex.

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