Las Vegas marijuana lounges on hold until Denver clubs open

Las Vegas tourists won’t be able to visit marijuana consumption clubs any time soon.

Commissioners in Nevada’s Clark County – home to Las Vegas – have decided to wait until Denver allows the nation’s first cannabis consumption club to open before they further discuss licensing and regulating marijuana lounges in Sin City.

“I don’t see any reason why we have to be the first,” Commissioner James Gibson said during a public meeting.

Nevada launched legal sales of recreational marijuana on July 1, and there’s been heavy demand from tourists. But state law allows cannabis to be used only in private homes, leaving visitors without a place to legally consume any cannabis products they purchase.

Denver voters in November approved cannabis consumption in public places, and regulators have allowed businesses to submit applications to open marijuana clubs. But the city hasn’t approved any yet.

The initial discussion among Clark County commissioners came after attorneys for the Nevada legislature concluded that nothing in state law prohibits local governments from allowing marijuana consumption lounges.

Andrew Jolley, president of the Nevada Dispensary Association and a store owner, told The Associated Press after the meeting that a county advisory panel intends to present commissioners a plan involving a pilot project for a few lounges.