Two pieces of marijuana-related legislation signed into law by Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) took effect in the state earlier this month.
The first – Assembly Bill 341 – was approved by the governor in June and allows for the regulation of on-site cannabis consumption spaces for adults 21 and older in Nevada.
The legislation creates two new licensing categories for businesses that want to allow customers to use cannabis on their premises. One is for “retail cannabis consumption lounges” for purchases made on-site at marijuana dispensaries. The other is for “independent cannabis consumption lounges,” whereby a business that doesn’t sell cannabis can purchase it from a dispensary then resell it to their own customers for on-site consumption.
The licensing process will be handled by Nevada’s marijuana regulator, the Cannabis Compliance Board, and the enacted bill includes a provision for social equity applicants to pay a reduced licensing fee.
Nevada is now the second state to permit on-site cannabis consumption lounges after Alaska, with New York also considering the move.
The second marijuana-related bill that took effect this month – Assembly Bill 158 – reduces first-time penalties for minors in possession of small amounts of cannabis. Previously, minors could face up to six months in jail on top of a $1,000 fine, but now such an offense is only punishable by community service. The new law also ensures that records of such an offense will be automatically sealed so long as the individual meets the requirements of their community service sentence.
Other cannabis-related legislation signed by Sisolak took effect earlier this year. Assembly Bill 400 came into force on July 1, amending the state’s marijuana DUI laws so that trace amounts of THC or its metabolite found in driver’s system is no longer a per se violation of traffic laws under certain conditions.
Another, Senate Bill 168, made curbside pickups of cannabis – a measure introduced in response to the coronavirus pandemic – a permanent feature of Nevada’s marijuana laws.
