Las Vegas dispensary offers ‘Joints For Jabs’ at vaccine clinic

If fabulous prizes, free beer or lap dances didn’t persuade you to get vaccinated against COVID-19, public health officials and a Las Vegas dispensary are hoping that that free pot can get you to take the plunge.

Immunize Nevada and the Jardi Jardín Premium Cannabis Dispensary are partnering to launch “Jabs For Joints,” a one day pop-up vaccination site at the dispensary’s storefront on Friday. The first event of its kind in Las Vegas will offer guests who get vaccinated a prerolled pot cigarette for a penny or a $5 gift card for use during a future visit.

Doses of the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines will be available. The event will also have music, food trucks and a guest speaker series.

“If you haven’t been vaccinated yet, come on down, get jabbed, get a (virtually) free joint, and be automatically entered into the Vax Nevada Days raffle drawing to win a million dollars. How can you lose?” said Clark County Commissioner Tick Segerblom, an ardent proponent of the ballot initiative legalizing recreational marijuana in 2016. “I am hoping that this vaccination site will initiate a domino effect and inspire other dispensaries in town to get involved. With a rise in cases as a direct result of the delta variant, it’s more important now than ever to do our part by getting vaccinated.”

The event will take place from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at dispensary at 2900 E. Desert Inn Road.

Adam Cohen, founder and CEO of Jardín, said the effort is aimed at “those who have been reluctant to receive the vaccine.”

“By promoting the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine, we are trying to do our part to help achieve a sense of normalcy in Las Vegas on the heels of the city’s reopening,” he said.

With new cases of COVID-19 rising sharply in Nevada in recent weeks, state and local public health officials have tried varied approaches to entice unvaccinated Nevadans to either make time to get a shot or shots or to overcome any misgivings they may harbor about the safety of the products. Among them: a state raffle that will distribute $5 million in prizes and vaccination events at brew pubs and a Las Vegas strip club.

Contact Jonah Dylan at jdylan@reviewjournal.com. Follow @TheJonahDylan on Twitter.