In 2021, Nevada passed Assembly Bill 341 which allows for the Cannabis Compliance Board (the local cannabis regulatory group) to license and regulate cannabis consumption lounges. Cannabis consumption lounges would allow on-site consumption of cannabis for guests over the age of 21. Prior to AB341, the only consumption lounge for Nevada was at NuWu Dispensary, a location on native land that does not need to abide by all traditional cannabis regulations. NuWu’s consumption lounge opened in 2019 and continues to serve the Las Vegas market via the Sky High Lounge with on-site consumption and events.
The first CCB-licensed consumption lounge, Smoke and Mirrors, received approval to operate in mid-February 2024. By Wednesday, February 21, Smoke and Mirrors began hosting friends and family soft opening nights for the cannabis industry.
As of late February 2024, Smoke and Mirrors is reservation-only, but the general public can secure seating via the Open Table app. Open Table is traditionally used for restaurant reservations, so perhaps this use of a more traditional platform is a step toward the normalization of cannabis consumption in a nightlife industry. Smoke and Mirrors does share a parking lot with Sapphire, a well-renowned gentleman’s club.
Smoke and Mirrors is, at its heart, a nightlife lounge location. The lounge itself is on-site at the Thrive dispensary located directly behind Resorts World on a local strip-side access road. The lounge layout is part bar top and high-top tables and part lush midcentury modern couches. TVs line the walls and the furniture is punctuated by high end ashtrays.
Prior to entering the lounge, guests are asked to sign a standard waiver acknowledging risks of consuming cannabis. The hosts checking guests in will also scan IDs to verify age and relay that medicated product cannot be brought in or taken out of the premises. That means guests can’t bring in their own cannabis, even if they bought it at the connected dispensary. They also can’t take any of their cannabis that they buy in the lounge to-go; all products purchased at the lounge must be consumed on-site.
For the friends and family opening, Smoke and Mirrors offered limited consumable options; full gram pre-rolls, 2.5MG mocktails, and for parties of four or more, eights of flower to share.
The menu for the soft opening was as follows:
Mocktails
- Mr. Brightside, made with SOBREO Valencia Orange, watermelon juice, lime juice, and tajin
- Evolve, made with SOBREO Indonesian Cinnamon, apple juice, vanilla syrup, dehydrated apple, and garnished with a cinnamon stick
- The Godfather, made with SOBREO Vietnamese anise, blueberry puree, lime juice, pineapple juice, agave nectar, and basil leaves
- Higher Ground, made with SOBREO Tuscan juniper, agave nectar, green tea, raspberries, lemon wedges, rosemary, and ginger beer
All of the mocktails utilize a base with the SOBREO line of cocktail mixers and each include a dosage of 2.5MG of THC via a tincture. Mocktails may be a bit of a misnomer as each drink included an infusion of THC, however they were indeed alcohol-free. From the menu, the Evolve drink was the clear winner. Most THC-tasters stated this tasted like apple pie and went down smoothly without being too sweet. It was abundantly clear that the mocktail menu was meticulously mindful of creating craft cannabis cocktails that satisfy sophisticated palettes. The low dosage of only 2.5MG also aids in being able to try more than one drink per visit without accidentally overconsuming.
Full Gram Pre-Rolls
- Sour Banana Sherbert by Green & Gold
- Chemical Compound by Pistola
- Garlic Cookies by Nature’s Chemistry
Smoke and Mirrors is powered by Thrive dispensary, a vertically integrated group based in Nevada. Thrive operates several dispensaries through Northern and Southern Nevada and has several in-house infused brands. Green & Gold and Pistola are two of Thrive’s in-house brands and Nature’s Chemistry is a local-favorite cultivator. Each of the pre-rolls burned evenly and were provided with full terpene and THC testing information upon ordering. The crowd favorite was naturally the Nature’s Chemistry strain, although that’s not to disparage the very high-quality Green & Gold and Pistola picks. Lighters were provided by the venue for all pre-roll purchases by servers as needed.
Eighths
- Sour Banana Sherbert by Green & Gold
- GMO Otter Poppz by Pistola
While the eighth options were slimmer than the other menu offerings, the variety was enough to satisfy most groups. What was more impressive than the high-quality flower offered was the available consumption methods for loose flower. Guests could roll their own joints or use a metal bong offered by the venue. The metal bongs may be in anticipation of potential glass breakage or due to being easier to clean in some circumstances. Perhaps most impressively was the offering of Stündenglass gravity infusers for loose flower consumption. Stündenglass is well known as top-of-class industry approved glass with a smooth gravity-bong style of burning loose flower. In place of a bowl, Smoke and Mirrors has opted to utilize the Stündenglass Modül to burn dry flower for consumption. The Modül essentially cooks dry flower internally, so consumers don’t have to constantly reach around and manually light up a flower bowl to refill the glass chambers. This may also be to reduce the amount of potential glass breakage, but as a consumer it’s also fascinating to see a technology-forward consumption stance at Smoke and Mirrors.
Coming hot off the heels of Smoke and Mirror’s historic achievement, neighboring dispensary Planet 13 has begun marketing their consumption lounge, Dazed! Lounge. While Dazed! has not received CCB approval as of late February 2024, that has not stopped Planet 13 from rolling out both print and billboard ads in favor of their lounge. Planet 13 is just down the block from Thrive and Smoke and Mirrors, behind the Strip’s Fashion Show Mall. Clearly the competition is heating up as much as the pre-rolls are.
For more industry insight, stay tuned to the blog.
