The Nevada State Legislature is considering a series of bills on recreational marijuana use, that could make it easier to consume marijuana.
The bills could even have an impact on border towns that are close to Utah where “pot tourism” is growing.
“As a state that relies heavily on tourism, as a community that relies heavily on tourism, we’re going to see those cannabis tourists. We already do see those cannabis tourists,” West Wendover Mayor Daniel Corona said to FOX 13 this week.
Corona supports Assembly Bill 341, which would create special “cannabis lounges” where people can go and legally consume.
Assembly Bill 341 would solve the problem that even though people can purchase marijuana, they cannot legally use it in public. Not in hotels or casinos either.
A cannabis lounge would allow users to be able to smoke in public, especially tourists.
“Now is the right time to make sure lounges are created, set up, licensed in a way that is safe and highly regulated just like the rest of the industry,” said Layke Martin, the executive director of the Nevada Dispensary Association.
“I’m not in favor of it,” Mesquite Mayor Al Litman however told FOX 13. “I know we get a lot of customers from out of state, primarily Utah, that come down.”
According to Litman there would be too many public safety problems associated with cannabis lounges.
“It’s bad enough you’ve got people leaving casinos and bars at late hours and they’re inebriated and police have to deal with that situation,” he said. “It would be doubly-worse if they would go first to a lounge and go to the bar. It’d be a disaster for the community.”
“For me, it would be irresponsible not to allow at least one cannabis lounge,” Mayor Corona explained. “But we have to find a way to responsibly regulate that. Whether that means folks are not to drive to the cannabis lounge or they have to provide some sort of transportation for those folks. But I think there is a way to do that and do so responsibly.”