LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Cannabis consumption lounges are meant to be a safe place for tourists and locals alike to consume marijuana, but so far only two have opened in Nevada.

What challenges are business facing opening their doors? State lawmakers want to know.

“I have just a couple of questions about the cannabis consumption licenses. I was obviously working on that in 2021 with a lot of my colleagues that are in this committee… only two of them are up and operational,” shared Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager representing Clark County, District 9.

Yeager calls the state’s two cannabis consumption lounges “wonderful facilities” but in a joint meeting of the Senate Committee on Finance and Assembly Committee on Ways and Means he questioned why after so many years of planning, there aren’t more open despite dozens of applicants in the licensing process including 18 perspective and 20 conditional licensees.

“We would certainly like to see more of those open,” Yeager asserted.

Head of the Cannabis Compliance Board James Humm responded saying expect to see many more opening soon.

“We have 21 locked, loaded and ready to go… so those have a pretty clear path,” Humm shared explaining those 21 just need operational plan approval and a final walk through. The hold up for others: finances.

“We do have in regulation a $200,000 minimum that is a part of a suitability requirement for those lounges to open… that $200,000 CCB does not see a dime of that money. That is just operational liquidity that the business itself will need to facilitate and open that business,” Humm reported.

Coming up with that $200,000 in capital to start the business is proving difficult especially for all 10 social equality applicants who want to open a lounge. The Humm revealed the CCB may consider changing that requirement.

“Potentially look at either reducing that or eliminating that,” Humm told lawmakers.

Another challenge for some potential lounges, especially independent operators that won’t be attached to an existing dispensary, is finding right location for a cannabis business.

Humm also told lawmakers during a presentation on the CCB budget, due to the number of lounges open or permitted being a lot less than projected, the CCB will eliminate two compliance officer positions that were budgeted for the next two years.

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