First cannabis-friendly hotel in Las Vegas clarifies rules before opening

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - The Lexi Las Vegas officially opens this Friday, branded as the first and only cannabis-friendly hotel in Las Vegas.

Elevations Hotels and Resorts has transformed what was once known as the Artisan hotel, off Sahara and the I-15, into The Lexi Las Vegas.

It’s a 21-and-over, non-gaming boutique hotel with a total of 64 rooms, but only about 22 of those rooms will allow cannabis consumption.

“When you do this, you have to make sure that you’re very cognizant of what the law is,” said Daron Brotherton, COO of Elevations Nation. “We are not in the cannabis business. We are simply cannabis-friendly tourism.”

The law says cannabis can be consumed in a private dwelling or at a business that holds a license for a cannabis lounge.

According to both the Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board and the hotel’s ownership group, The Lexi does not have a cannabis lounge license, which is why there will be no marijuana allowed in the public areas.

However, the CEO of Elevations Hotels and Resorts Alexandre Rizk said that a reserved hotel room is considered a private dwelling, which is why guests can consume cannabis inside their rooms only.

“These are all very new laws, and as they evolve, we want to be part of the discussion, and hopefully we can get to a place where we have certain areas of the public areas where it is possible to consume cannabis safely, but until then, it’s not going to be possible,” said Rizk.

The Lexi will also have a special air filtration system in every room to get rid of any lingering marijuana scent.

The plan follows a concept similar to another cannabis-friendly Elevations hotel located in Phoenix, which the company said has been well-received.

“On the very first day, I want to say we had almost 360 phone calls looking to make reservations with us, and then that demand has sort of never really extinguished,” said Brotherton. “There is a huge market for cannabis-friendly hotels in this country, for sure.”

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