LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A popular Las Vegas attraction is looking to add a cannabis lounge to its complex.
A conditional license for a cannabis consumption lounge was approved for the immersive experience AREA15. People come for a creative and immersive experience unlike anywhere else in town.
Now, the CEO wants to add a cannabis consumption lounge for locals and visitors but says it will have a separate entrance from the main building.
I caught Curtis Brown leaving a cannabis dispensary. He says while you can buy cannabis, you have nowhere to go consume it.
"Once they purchase it, they have no place to legally smoke it," said Brown, a Las Vegas resident. "You see people smoking downtown, people smoking on the Strip."
On Tuesday, the CEO and co-founder of AREA15, Winston Fisher, presented plans to the Cannabis Compliance Board for a lounge on the AREA15 property.
"My goal is to be a premier, safe, inviting, warm, and creative consumption lounge," Fisher said.
He explained the lounge concept and the plan to be open 24 hours. It will be operated by a different business entity and not operated by AREA15 itself.
"We have some adjacent space around the area on the campus that is separate from AREA15 to be very clear but with adjacency," he said.
Fisher did not share visuals of the lounge during the presentation.
AREA15 is a family-friendly attraction during the day. Some Cannabis Consumption Board members had questions about mixing the lounge in an area where young people are welcome.
"We say we are PG during the day, and R at night is sort of the AREA15 motto," he said. "This is not located by the front door I am very cognizant there is spacial separation, while adjacent, it is not in the path kids would walk."
The board approved the conditional license which means they can start the construction process.
A representative from the CCB says the state has nine total conditional licensees approved so far. Most are attached to retail cannabis businesses and a handful of independent locations.
AREA15 will be an independent location that is just for consumption on the property, similar to a bar where you buy alcohol.
The first lounge could open before the end of the year.
"What better way to do so than in a public place that already has rules with people being 21 and up and consuming different substances," said Bri Padilla, the executive director of the Chamber of Cannabis. It's a nonprofit organization working to unite the industry.
She says a major business like AREA15 adding a lounge could compliment the industry.
"I hope the lounge helps them grow even more, and I hope it helps spread the word about what compliant, hospitable cannabis use can look like," Padilla said.
Brown says he liked the idea of one coming to the AREA15 property.
"I think it is ahead of its time," he said. "There should be more added."
Now that they have the conditional license, they will need approval from the City of Las Vegas and have inspections done by the CCB. A representative from the CCB says AREA15 has one year to get it open.
