LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Six marijuana lounges in unincorporated Clark County submitted mandatory DUI prevention plans for local approval, all part of the final preparations for opening their doors.
The Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board bans alcohol from any lounge and requires each prospective lounge to have its own DUI prevention plan; Clark County’s Office of Traffic Safety requires a plan with additional requirements for establishments and employees.
“These are some of the most comprehensive regulations in the country,” said Andrew Bennett of the Office of Traffic Safety, who reviews every submitted plan and mandates adjustments from various establishments.
Establishments in unincorporated parts of Clark County are required to offer no-tow policies for 24 hours. Customers can choose to leave their vehicles if they’re high and cannot drive.
Lounges must also have a rideshare and taxi plan for customers, and signage to warn people that it’s illegal to drive while high.
Bennett said many establishments needed adjustments on their plans for employee training and overconsumption detection.
“There’s state-standardized training for alcohol distribution like a TAM card. There isn’t anything like that nationally when it comes to education of servers of cannabis products,” Bennett said.
“At the simplest point, cannabis is an impairing substance. That is the number one priority: what overconsumption can look like,” he said.
A big concern is a delayed “high” among different users with a risk of overconsumption, especially with novice users.
FOX5 checked in with Planet 13 on its progress: construction is still ongoing, and the establishment plans to submits its local DUI prevention plan shortly and open within two months.
“For us–building out the rulebook live, as one of the first–this is something we’ve never done before…some of these things do take time,” said David Farris with Planet 13 back in June 2023.
Farris updated FOX5 this week with DUI prevention plans. They include classrooms for employee training and “scenario” training.
A “driver’s lounge” is available for Lyft, Uber and taxi drivers to wait on standby for customers, so anyone who is intoxicated never has to wait to get a ride.
To prevent overconsumption, Planet 13 will provide a streamlined lounge menu of smoking and limit “edibles” options to infused beverages, where the THC effect kicks in within 10 to 20 minutes.
For traditional edibles, a high can kick in after 30 minutes and a peak high could come hours later.
According to the Cannabis Compliance Board, more than 20 prospective lounges could open in unincorporated Clark County.
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