Nevada lawmakers turn their nose at pot clubs plan

Marijuana social clubs are inching closer to reality at the Nevada Legislature, but some lawmakers are turning their nose up at the idea.

“The smell permeates everywhere,” Assemblywoman Dina Neal, D-North Las Vegas, said Friday during the Assembly Government Affairs committee hearing for Senate Bill 236.

“I hate the smell. I don’t ever want to be close to it,” Neal added.

SB 236, sponsored by Sen. Tick Segerblom, D-Las Vegas, would allow local governments to permit various forms of social marijuana use.

Clark County commissioners are mulling an idea that would allow for dedicated lounges attached to marijuana dispensaries where people could smoke and consume in other fashions away from home. That proposal is contingent upon SB 236 passing.

Assemblyman Richard Carrillo, D-Las Vegas, expressed similar concerns to Neal, and wondered whether the state should mandate some form of air filtration on the clubs to ensure the pungent smell doesn’t seep from the vents of pot clubs.

Segerblom said he thought those types of regulations should be left up to the local governments to sort out.

The bill passed the Senate by a 12-9 vote. The committee has until Friday to pass it and send it to the full Assembly for a vote.

Contact Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638. Follow @ColtonLochhead on Twitter.