Las Vegas is Becoming a Marijuana Tourist Destination

Nevada voters in November will decide whether or not recreational marijuana use will be legal in the eyes of the state’s government and could create a $400 million marijuana tourism industry.

Nevada is already among the 20 states that allow medicinal use of marijuana, but Nevada is the only state that honors out-of-state medical marijuana prescriptions, which has spurred a small tourism industry of its own.

Until July 2015, there were no dispensaries in Nevada, but the Nevada Dispensary Association shows rapid increases in tax revenues as they began opening in the state in July 2015.

The Marijuana Policy Project indicates there were 18,600 registered medical marijuana patients with prescriptions in Nevada as of July, and that number had doubled over the past 12 months.

Each month, another 300 patients obtain medical marijuana prescriptions, with a potential total of 60,000 medical marijuana prescription-holders residing in Nevada, according to the Marijuana Policy Project.

Total medical marijuana taxes collected in July 2015 were just $468.07, according to the Nevada Department of Taxation. By May 2016, though, total tax revenues on medical marijuana reached $140,142.96 with a total of $562,396.58 collected in taxes from July 2015 through May.

Of that $526,396.58, some 75 percent, equal to $421,796.97, went to state education coffers, while the remaining 25 percent – $140,599.61 – went to the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health. A list of all dispensaries now open in Nevada could not be located.

If Nevada voters approve the recreational marijuana legalization measure, which is Question 2 on the Nevada ballot, the sale and use of recreational marijuana would become legal in the state.

That means Las Vegas would likely become a marijuana tourist destination with an estimated 6,800,719 potential “adult-use Nevada tourists aged 21 and up” coming to the state in 2018 to buy 45,956.7 kilograms of marijuana, according to the Nevada Dispensary Association.

That’s a total recreational marijuana market value of $393,710,009 in 2018, according to RCG Economics. RCG also says recreational marijuana sales in the state would generate more than $464 million in tax revenues from 2018 through 2024, with three-fourths of that total going toward education funding.

From 2016 through 2024, if recreational marijuana is legalized in Nevada, the state could see an estimated 6,800,719 potential “adult-use Nevada tourists aged 21 and up” coming to the state each year.

In July, polling firm Rasmussen showed 50 percent of 750 Nevadans polled favor the recreational legalization initiative, versus 41 percent opposed. Another 9 percent said they were undecided.

Democrats, young voters, blacks and Hispanics generally indicated strong support for Question 2, while Republicans and senior citizens generally oppose the ballot initiative.

If implemented, the measure would create a 15 percent tax that would help fund the state’s K-12 public education system.

While the potential passage of Question 2 could create a lucrative recreational marijuana tourism industry in Nevada, it already has a micro economy based upon medical marijuana tourism.

Tourists with medical marijuana prescriptions simply can walk into a dispensary and buy Nevada-grown marijuana. Those who don’t have a prescription in another state can obtain one while in Nevada in just minutes by consulting with a doctor affiliated with a licensed dispensary and paying a nominal fee.

The Las Vegas Sun recently reported a visitor from Oregon paid $120 to a local marijuana tourism firm to take him from the Palms casino to a dispensary on South Maryland Parkway, and he obtained a prescription on the ride over via a phone consultation with a doctor.

The man simply told the doctor he had back pain or insomnia, and in about five minutes had his prescription, which he filled at the dispensary, which is located about 5 miles from the Palms. The process for Nevada residents, though, is much more difficult and takes up to months to complete, ending with a final trip to the Nevada Dept. of Motor Vehicles.

The Las Vegas Sun also referenced a marijuana travel website, where mostly out-of-state visitors can book their trip to Las Vegas and establish an itinerary for obtaining marijuana while visiting the city.

Because federal law continues outlawing marijuana, even those with prescriptions are likely to leave their pot at home and wait until they land in Las Vegas to obtain some during their stay.

The relative ease of obtaining a medical marijuana prescription, the opening of dispensaries during the past year, and the potential for Nevadans legalizing recreational marijuana could create a more lucrative local marijuana tourism industry.

If recreational marijuana is legalized, the industry would grow exponentially, and marijuana tourism could become a significant portion of the local economy.

If it is not legalized, up to 60,000 potential Nevadans with prescriptions, plus potentially thousands more visiting every week with the ability to obtain quick prescriptions, means marijuana tourism is still likely to stay in Las Vegas.