LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — It's been more than a year since the first regulated cannabis lounge opened in Clark County, and in that time, Smoke and Mirrors has significantly changed its business model.
The Lexie Las Vegas billed itself as the city’s first “cannabis-friendly” hotel when it opened in 2023, but it’s no longer cannabis friendly.
It made me wonder about the future of the marijuana industry in the valley. Here's what I found out.
I spoke with Riana Durrett, who is the director of the UNLV Cannabis Policy Institute.
The think tank came out with a report last year assessing the state of the cannabis industry.
“Cannabis is wildly popular. People consume it. They weren't waiting for lounges to be able to consume it, so that model does not work. Nevada has now shown that, and we need to rethink social use,” Durrettn said.
While she said the amount of cannabis being purchased in the state is not going down, the prices are, largely because of the illegal market and its wide availability, but that means smaller tax revenue from marijuana sales, some of which goes to schools.
Lounges also have their own regulations to adhere to.
“Either the state could reassess the restrictive regulations around the lounges—some of the things that would make it very expensive to operateor—we need to look at how do you take an entertainment venue and add cannabis on top of that, not relying on the cannabis consumption to draw people in because that's not going to draw people in,” she said.
As far as the future of the cannabis industry goes?
“We have a lot of exciting opportunities in the state of Nevada,” Durrett said. “One thing we do need to be prepared for is the possibility of interstate commerce. Right now, cannabis can't be transported across state lines. Every state has its own program, its own laws. Eventually, that will likely open up, and we need to be prepared for that.”
A couple of years ago, there was hope in Congress passing the Safer Banking Act, which would have made doing business at banks easier for cannabis-based businesses, but it never really went anywhere, and so far, there hasn’t been much movement with this Congress.
On Thursday, Attorney General Aaron Ford joined a bipartisan coalition sending a letter to Congress urging its members to pass the Safer Banking Act of 2025.
