Just like with gambling, there are rules for the visitor to follow: no consumption in any rooms, in any hotel, on any casino floor, walking around anywhere. But getting it is easy.
“We know how to do sin.”
With those words, former Nevada State Senator Tick Segerblom connected the dots in 2016 when recreational marijuana was legalized in the state. Prostitution, gambling, and cannabis — a perfect Sin City combo! And it’s turned out to be a huge regulated vice success.
As of May 2018 there were officially 47 retail marijuana stores dotting Las Vegas with potentially 60 more to come, serving 43 million visitors who stay in any of the 150,000 hotel rooms and spend $36 billion.
In just the first full year of sales (2018), visitors and residents in the state spent $530 million — way over forecasts and averaging about $50 million a month — with the majority buying their marijuana in Vegas. The first social consumption lounge opened in October, another history-making marijuana moment.
RELATED: Las Vegas May Have To Wait For Cannabis Lounges After All
Just like with gambling, there are rules for the visitor to follow: no consumption in any rooms, in any hotel, on any casino floor, walking around anywhere. No single purchase over 1 ounce. Discretion is key. Lock it up in the safe in your room.
But getting it? Easy peasy.
Go big
Check out Planet 13 Cannabis Superstore and Entertainment Complex, the world’s biggest dispensary (for now) that opened late in 2018. This is as Vegas as Vegas gets – a stoner fantasy dispensary, operating big and proud inside a glitzy 112,000 square feet building. It’s a cannabis wonderland of 50-plus retail vendors that’s open 24/7, with free rides to the store available.
Go small
The smaller boutique shops might be your quickest get-and-go cannabis joint, and the best place for newcomers to spend a little time with a knowledgeable budtender. You can find them near 7-11s and small restaurants in the city, like ReLeaf, sometimes two and three stores in a meandering looking strip mall, and most able to deliver to you wherever you are in the city.
Go now
There are at least 30 marijuana cannabis retail stores that are open 24-7 (it’s Vegas – remember?) many providing free delivery. The Reef, The Apothecary, Oasis Cannabis, NuWu are just a few. Most others open early and close late – 8 a.m. to midnight is pretty common – and more are adding drive-thrus.
Go anywhere
Dispensaries are located just about anywhere in the greater Las Vegas area. Or you can take a hop on/hop off two hour cannabis dispensary tour that includes a stop at the first ever cannabis-themed wedding chapel.
RELATED: 3 Types Of Marijuana Perfect For A Night In Las Vegas
Go old school
Say you just got off a long cross-continent flight and don’t want to start Googling and checking your GPS and all that? No problem. Just ask your cabbie or Lyft or Uber driver. “It’s the first question I get,” a Vegas cabbie said during my last visit there. There are at least five dispensaries within a 5 minute cab ride from the airport. You can also ask you hotel concierge or doorman. Some dispensaries allegedly pay drivers to bring them customers. Just sayin’…
