Politicians and businesses in the states where marijuana is legalized are often accepted. Though in Nevada, there have been some concerns that have surfaced about how the newly legal marijuana could affect established institutions, mainly casinos.
The Nevada Gaming Commission, which controls casinos and gambling in the state, is hosting a special meeting to discuss what their position is towards legalized cannabis. A lot of professionals in the casino industry see cannabis as a possible threat to their own legal status. Nevada laws permit businesses to avoid behavior that could shame the industry. And since marijuana is illegal at the federal level, accepting legalized cannabis could be seen as questionable.
Also, another problem is the fury of the federal government. Though Nevada’s gaming industry has been able to dodge strong scrutiny at the national level, they’re concerned that would change if casinos started accepting cannabis that’s still strictly illegal on a federal level.
“Were we to take a position that would allow a federal law to be broken and not act on it, that has a great chance of inviting federal intervention,” stated Nevada Gaming Commissioner Randolph Townsend.
In order to evade issues, proposals have been made that entail restricting individuals who are involved in the gaming industry from also getting involved in the legal marijuana industry, and only permitting businesses to either receive licenses to work in marijuana or gaming but not both.
Another problem that casinos are dealing with is whether guests should or should not be allowed to use marijuana products in their hotels. According to Nevada law, anyone can buy marijuana but it cannot be used in a public space. But what is the definition of “public space” when it comes to casinos? Is a hotel room, which is available for reservation by anyone, a public space? What about a conference room reserved by a private group?
The Nevada Gaming Commission is working to resolve many of these problems as soon as possible. They say they want to make sure all casinos are both following federal and state laws, which can be difficult when those laws conflict each other.
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