Licensing Blog

Cannabis Lounges: Nevada to Open On-Site Consumption License Application in October

Cannabis Lounges: Nevada to Open On-Site Consumption License Application in October

The home of the bright and shinning lights of Las Vegas is becoming the 7th state to allow cannabis consumption lounges within their state’s borders. The Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board announced a limited application window from October 14th till October 27th of this year. Further, under Nevada’s cannabis law, this will be the only opportunity to apply for such licenses as additional licenses in the future will be dependent on changes to the current law.

For the cannabis consumption lounge applications, there will be two types of licenses. The first, will apply to owners of licensed marijuana dispensaries with social lounges attached or adjacent to them. The State of Nevada expects to issue up to 45 “Retail Cannabis Consumption Lounge” licenses. To apply for this type of license, there is a one-time, non-refundable application fee of $100,000 dollars that must be paid by an owner of a licensed operational cannabis sales facility to be eligible.

The second type of license, “Independent Cannabis Consumption Lounge,” will apply to stand-alone lounges in which applicants will be placed on a random-number generator to be chosen in a lottery-type basis. The Silver State is strengthening inclusivity in their application process by mandating that half of the 20 licenses permitted to be given to stand-alone lounges be granted to “social equity applicants.” To apply for this type of license, there is a one-time, non-refundable application fee of $10,000 dollars. However, if you are a “social equity applicant,” the application fee has been reduced to $2,500 dollars. Any person may apply for an Independent Cannabis Consumption Lounge license, so long as the applicant does not hold an adult-use cannabis establishment license for an adult-use cannabis retail store.

For both of these licenses, there are numerous requirements to be eligible to apply, which our Team can assist you with. Before applying, applicants must have a Nevada Business License Registered through the Nevada Secretary of State’s Office. An additional pre-requisite is that each owner, officer, and board member of the proposed lounge must submit an application for a cannabis consumption lounge agent card. After completing these steps, an applicant must create an Accela Account and fill in the appropriate sections of the application such as: (1) applicant contact information; (2) business name; (3) license type; (4) local jurisdiction (check before applying whether your jurisdiction permits on-site consumption); (5) attestations of assets and location; (6) ownership information (i.e.) SSN, agent card number, etc.; and (7) a diversity plan.

In the initial application, applicants will only be required to submit fingerprints for agent cards and their comprehensive diversity plan. If fortunate to be granted a cannabis consumption lounge license, the chosen applicants will have 120-days from receipt of the letter to provide the additional documents to be given a conditional license. To further review the additional documents required, please see the Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board’s “Prospective License Holder Requirements Checklist.”

Due to the swiftness of Nevada’s application period and the numerous requirements if chosen, now is the time to work with a team of cannabis experts to ensure you and your company are a part of the highly sought-after cannabis consumption lounges. Contact one of our Team members today to discuss your options!