Vegas city officials approve marijuana consumption lounges

LAS VEGAS — Legal marijuana smokers will soon be able to find lounges where they can light up in Las Vegas — but not in casinos, or in places serving alcohol, or on the resort-lined Las Vegas Strip.

The City Council on Wednesday approved allowing what proponents dubbed "social use venues" where people can consume marijuana in the urban core of Nevada's sprawling casino playground.

The move addresses a conundrum faced by adult tourists who have been able since July 2017 to buy marijuana for recreational use, but not consume it in public, in casinos or in hotel rooms.

City spokesman Jace Radke says it will probably take several months for the 20 or so dispensaries licensed in the city to get permits to open consumption lounges.