Nevada Pot Laws: What You Need To Know About Recreational Weed Before Your Vegas Trip

nevada pot laws

So, you’re taking a weekend getaway to Sin City, but you’re not interested in the free drinks the casinos have to offer.

You don’t want the bad decisions, hangovers, and paying the price of a drunken night out on the strip.

You’d much rather pay a price for something that will relax you. And, that you can’t get at home.

Nevada passed marijuana laws in 2017 that allow for its recreational use. But since then, there’s been some confusion amongst visitors.

The most common questions asked are, “Do I need a license?” and “Where do I buy it?” But, there’s a lot more to know that just that!

In this guide, we’re going over everything you need to know about Nevada pot laws. You’ll be better prepared for your Las Vegas trip — and for traveling after you get there!

Nevada Pot Laws: The Basics

The first thing people get confused about is the legal age to buy marijuana. Some people think it’s 18 while others say its 21.

Guess what? They’re both right.

If you’re 21 or older, you can buy recreational weed. If you’re between 18-21, you can buy it with a valid medical marijuana card.

The good news is that if you’re 19 and have a medical marijuana card issued in your home state, it’s valid in Nevada. So, if you live in Oklahoma and are planning a trip to Vegas, bring your card along if you’re at least 18.

Minors can qualify for a medical marijuana card under the Nevada pot laws. But, their parents need to sign the Minor Release Form and agree to act as the child’s primary caregiver.

How Much You Can Buy

Unfortunately, you can’t buy as much weed as you want in Nevada. There are limits.

For recreational use, you can buy up to an ounce of flower or an eighth of an ounce of concentrate at one time. You have to buy from a recreational dispensary and you’ll get charged a 15% excise tax per purchase.

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If you’re buying it for medicinal purposes, you can buy up to 2.5 ounces of usable pot within a two-week period. This includes flower, concentrates, edibles, or topicals. In essence, anything that contains cannabis and can get you high.

There’s a little debate over the term “usable” and it’s interpretation. But, dispensaries are aware of this and usually don’t sell unusable marijuana…

Moving on.

What’s The Deal with This Time Frame?

While most people aren’t visiting Las Vegas for two weeks, it obviously does happen.

In fact, if you’re planning to be in Vegas for longer than a week, you should look into the things you can do to stay busy away from the casinos. Click here for some pretty cool cannabis-inspired activities.

In the event you are staying for longer than 14 days, you should know that the limit to buy medical marijuana is based on the weight of cannabinoids. In other words, it’s not 2.5 ounces of one specific product but the total cannabinoid weight bought within two weeks.

So, if you’re buying a brownie that has a cannabinoid weight of 100 ml, you can buy the rest of your 2.48 ounces of marijuana any way you’d like as long as it’s within the two-week time frame.

Usable marijuana, that is.

Also, you should know you can shop at as many dispensaries as you’d like but you’re not fooling anyone. The State tracks all pot purchases in real-time.

Where You Can Buy Pot in Nevada

Many medical marijuana dispensaries hold dual-licenses. This means that they can sell both medical and recreational marijuana.

With recreational dispensaries, it’s super easy: They’re more than happy to let you know they sell it!

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The State determined how many recreational dispensaries are available by county size. So, Clark County — where Las Vegas is — has 80.

If you wanted to take a seven-hour drive north to Reno, Washoe County only has 20.

Which brings us to our next chapter.

Traveling with Pot in Nevada

If you do decide to make the drive to check out Reno’s casinos, you have to know that you can take your Las Vegas-bought weed with you. But, you’ll have to keep it sealed in a container away from yourself and minors.

This goes for your buddies, too. They can’t spark up while you’re driving.

If you don’t, you can get caught with an open container fine. If you have passengers under 18 with you, you’ll get hit with the more severe “aggravating circumstance” penalty.

That’s because it’s illegal to drive in Nevada under the influence of marijuana. Doing so could result in a fine, community service, or even jail time.

You also can’t take pot across state lines. This is the case even if you travel to states that have legalized marijuana in some form. For example, New Mexico legalized medical marijuana, but even if you have a valid medical card, you can’t take your weed there.

This is because different states have different marijuana regulations.

What You Need to Buy It

Aside from a medical marijuana card, where applicable, you only need an ID. And, some money, of course.

Where You Can Consume Marijuana in Nevada

Now for the big one. Just because pot is legal in Nevada doesn’t mean you can consume it anywhere you please. Nevada pot laws stipulate that cannabis consumption is illegal in public.

We’ll say that again: cannabis consumption in any form is only for private use.

The reason why is because there are still federal laws that prohibit the use of marijuana. Businesses, even ones in Las Vegas, don’t want to violate this.

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So, while a hotel or resort may allow you to smoke cigarettes or cigars, they won’t permit you to smoke a blunt. Likewise, you can’t consume pot in restaurants, parks, concerts, or on any federal property.

The casinos are very strict about this, too. That’s because they have so many laws to follow to stay compliant with gaming regulations. They don’t want to risk it, considering how often these establishments get visitors from Carson City.

You also can’t smoke weed in your car — rental or otherwise. Yes, even though it’s private property, Nevada considers this in view of the public.

If you’re caught smoking weed or consuming it in any way, you could get charged with a misdemeanor. This means you may have to pay a fine up to $1,000 or spend six months in jail. On rare occasion, violators have gotten hit with both.

The judge may assign community service to you, but if you’re visiting from out of state, your lawyer would argue for the fine.

Leaving Las Vegas

So, your Vegas trip is over and it’s time go back to reality. There are a few lasting things you should know about Nevada pot laws before you board the plane for your return flight home.

The first is that if you have any pot left, you better dump it. Remember that federal law thing? You can’t take weed on an airplane.

Don’t even think about shipping or mailing it to your address either. It’s considered interstate trafficking.

In a nutshell, if you have weed remaining from your Vegas adventure, it should definitely stay in Vegas.

If Lady Luck wasn’t on your side this trip, read about traveling when you’re flat broke by checking out these tips!