LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Places overseas are already turning to Nevada for guidance on how to regulate the cannabis industry, less than three months after the first state-regulated cannabis cocktail lounge opened its doors.
Guam’s Cannabis Control Board toured Smoke & Mirrors Friday morning.
“A lot of people come to Nevada because we are kind of the gold standard in cannabis throughout the nation,” Nevada’s Cannabis Program Supervisor Jason Banales says.
He says they wanted to show their partners in Guam how to set up their health inspections, and exchange ideas and information.
“To see them in action, and learn from them, so back home we can get a general idea of what to expect,” Guam’s Department of Revenue and Taxation’s Acting Director Craig Camacho says.
FOX 5 got an exclusive tour of Smoke & Mirrors, and insight on what Banales looks for during inspections of consumption lounges.
“It’s kind of the same as a restaurant, just adding a very special ingredient, which is cannabis,” Banales says.
They’ll examine how well the room is ventilated and the lounge’s plans to prevent overconsumption and impaired driving, he says.
They’ll also look at how the lounge plans to destroy leftover cannabis.
“You can’t throw it down the drain, it’s kind of like throwing pharmaceuticals down the drain,” he says.
Local marijuana attorney Amanda Connor, whose clients include Smoke & Mirrors, describes the last three months as a learning experience, but says business is booming.
“They are very busy in their operational hours, they have high demand,” Connor says. “They have different trends of customers than anticipated. It’s become a spot that a lot of more heavily female customers are visiting.”
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