Can the major industries of gaming and cannabis ever co-exist in Nevada? Policy experts, industry insiders and local leaders are discussing the possibilities within state law, all to give tourists and locals more consumer options.
UNLV’s Cannabis Policy Institute and the UNLV International Gaming Institute recently held a panel on federal regulations, state and local laws, and interest from industry leaders in gaming and cannabis.
Chair Tick Segerblom weighed in on the panel, and tells FOX5, some resort owners are looking ahead.
“They can see the synergy, especially with food and entertainment,” Segerblom said.
“You’ll start to see more and more conversations about ways these two industries could merge,” said Riana Durrett of the UNLV Cannabis Policy Institute, launched in 2023, helping government and medicine navigate the legal new frontier of cannabis regulations.
It would take major federal changes until Nevada could see a distant scenario: a cannabis dispensary or a lounge in a casino. Cannabis is still currently a Schedule I substance, with federal leaders moving towards a Schedule III classification. Federal banking laws also prohibit cannabis sales and transactions, which pose barriers for federally-regulated casinos.
“Attitudes have wildly changed in the last 10 years,” said Durrett. Since Nevada legalized recreational marijuana in 2017, numerous states have followed.
“We’re pretty far off from that point where we will see a consumption lounge or dispensary in a casino, but that is why I think it’s an interesting conversation. There are more opportunities out there that don’t involve going straight for a consumption lounge in a casino,” Durett said, noting options for changes in state and local laws that could amount to smaller steps to provide consumers more access.
One of the easier changes? Laws or regulations on cannabis deliveries.
“I think the ones that are the most subject to further discussion are ones like the prohibition on legal delivery to the strip corridor. There could be legal delivery to-non gaming establishments on the Strip corridor, and that wouldn’t put the gaming establishments in violation of federal law,” Durett said.
State regulations also prohibit cannabis delivery beyond private residences. “I do think that’s going to be looked at, this legislative session,” Durett said, and tells FOX5, a state lawmaker is looking into policy changes.
Any changes would start to chip at a decade of state and local restrictions.
In 2014, the Gaming Control Board warned licensees against participation in the cannabis industry. In 2017 and 2018, gaming regulators confirmed and expanded prohibitions, Durett said.
In 2017, Clark county prohibited legal delivery to the Strip.
In 2019, the Legislature imposed a 1,500 foot separation between gaming and cannabis establishments.
2024 ushered in a new era: legal cannabis lounges.
Durett tells FOX5 that policymakers could explore lessening regulations there, such as whether gaming could be in a consumption lounge off the Strip.
The next step: surveying casino leaders to see their interest in cannabis, if federal restrictions were lifted.
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A recent Review-Journal letter to the editor mischaracterized Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto’s Southern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act, also known as the Clark County Lands bill. As the former executive director of the Nevada Conservation League, I wholeheartedly support this legislation, so I wanted to set the record straight.
Sen. Cortez Masto has been working on this bill for years in partnership with state and local governments, conservation groups like the NCL and local area tribes. It’s true that the Clark County lands bill would open 25,000 acres to help Las Vegas grow responsibly, while setting aside 2 million acres for conservation. It would also help create more affordable housing throughout the valley while ensuring our treasured public spaces can be preserved for generations to come.
What is not correct is that the money from these land sales would go to the federal government’s coffers. In fact, the opposite is true.
The 1998 Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act is a landmark bill that identified specific public land for future sale and created a special account ensuring all land sale revenues would come back to Nevada. In accordance with that law 5 percent of revenue from land transfers goes to the state of Nevada for general education purposes, 10 percent goes to the Southern Nevada Water Authority for needed water infrastructure and 85 percent supports conservation and environmental mitigation projects in Southern Nevada. This legislation has provided billions to Clark County and will continue to benefit generations of Southern Nevadans. Sen. Cortez Masto’s lands bill builds upon the act’s success.
So here’s the good news: All of the money generated from land made available for sale under Sen. Cortez Masto’s bill would be sent to the special account created by the 1998 law. Rather than going to an unaccountable federal government, the proceeds would continue to help kids in Vegas get a better education, bolster outdoor recreation and modernize Southern Nevada’s infrastructure.
I know how important it is that money generated from the sale of public land in Nevada stay in the hands of Nevadans, and so does the senator. That’s why she opposed a Republican effort last year to sell off 200,000 acres of land in Clark County and other areas of the country that would have sent those dollars directly to Washington.
Public land management in Nevada should benefit Nevadans. We should protect sacred cultural sites and beloved recreation spaces, responsibly transfer land for affordable housing when needed and ensure our state has the resources it needs to grow sustainably. I will continue working with Sen. Cortez Masto to advocate for legislation, such as the Clark County lands bill, that puts the needs of Nevadans first.
Paul Selberg writes from Las Vegas.
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Las Vegas High’s baseball team claimed a 3-2 home win over Coronado on Friday.
Las Vegas (9-13-1) next hosts Rancho at 10 a.m. Saturday. Coronado (13-14) hosts Chaparral at 3:30 p.m. Monday.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Nevada’s jobless rate is holding steady, but the state is still adding jobs.
A new report from DETR shows February’s unemployment rate unchanged at 5.3 percent, with the labor force growing by nearly 3,800 people.
MORE ON FOX5: Nevada unemployment rate rises to 5.3% in January
Nevada now has about 1.6 million nonfarm jobs, up 2.2 percent over the past year and 1,500 more jobs than in January.
“This month’s report shows a strengthening labor market,” said David Schmidt, Chief Economist. ”Compared to the report for January, the pace of job gains in the past year increased from 1.9% to 2.2%, building on what was already the fastest pace of job growth in the country. While the unemployment rate remained stable, the labor force participation rate rose to 63.7%, 1.7 percentage points higher than the national level.”
In Las Vegas, employment ticked up by 1,100 jobs in February, about 0.1 percent, and is up more than 25,000 jobs compared to last year.
Reno added 1,000 jobs on the month, while Carson City shed about 200 but is still slightly above where it was a year ago.
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