S<\/span>he\u2019s not yet joined the four-member Congressional Cannabis Caucus, but since Dina Titus represents Las Vegas in the House of Representatives, she becomes one of the most marijuana-friendly lawmakers in Washington by default.<\/p>\n Las Vegas\u2019s recreational marijuana sector is booming \u2014 where else in America can you find (legal) 24-hour cannabis dispensaries? <\/a>Spoiler: nowhere \u2014 and Titus is acting accordingly on Capitol Hill. Titus is\u00a0a reliable cosponsor of federal legislation<\/a>\u00a0that would, at long last, update the federal government\u2019s long-exploded blanket prohibition on marijuana.<\/p>\n By now, the problems caused by the Controlled Substances Act are obvious, and they are manifest. Marijuana\u2019s classification as a Schedule I substance has meant that cannabis businesses can\u2019t open up a bank account. The insurance industry has stayed away<\/a>. Medical research is stalled.<\/p>\n In Las Vegas, federal marijuana policy has also led to a bizarre separation of church and state in America\u2019s gambling and nightlife mecca: Cannabis and casinos can\u2019t mix. The Nevada Gaming Commission, which regulates and licenses any establishment that hosts games of chance, from the floor of the Strip\u2019s glitziest hotels to the humble slot machines in an exhausted liquor store on a dusty side street,\u00a0has been clear they discourage all collaboration with the cannabis industry.<\/a><\/p>\n There\u2019s been some question if there aren\u2019t nefarious forces<\/a> at play. It\u2019s well-documented that Vegas billionaire Sheldon Alderson, a casino magnate, huge supporter of Donald Trump, and campaign bankroller of anti-legalization efforts, is no friend of weed.<\/p>\n But it appears the problem is much more obvious \u2014 and mundane.\u00a0As Forbes\u2019s Tom Angell reported<\/a>, Titus maintains that casinos simply cannot and will not allow cannabis sales or even cannabis-related activity until there\u2019s a change in federal law.<\/p>\n \u201cIt won\u2019t happen until federal legislation happens, because gaming is so tightly regulated and they\u2019re not going to take any chances of losing a license or having the feds step into the gaming world because of marijuana,\u201d Titus said in an interview with Forbes.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s kind of like the banks that don\u2019t want to do business with marijuana companies because of federal regulation,\u201d she added. \u201cSo it\u2019s going to take not just becoming mainstream or not just becoming legalized at the state level, but federal action before that happens.\u201d<\/p>\n At least some members of Congress have been keen to update the federal government\u2019s dusty and unpopular policies on cannabis \u2014 change that a sizable majority of Americans<\/a> of every political persuasion want. But so far, those efforts have been thwarted by a minority.<\/p>\n That minority, unfortunately, happens to the Republican-controlled Congress\u2019s leadership \u2014 who, in addition to prohibiting cannabis in casinos, are also blocking reform that would make it easier for military veterans<\/a> with PTSD to access weed.<\/p>\n Titus isn\u2019t wrong, but she\u2019s also running a little bit of cover for the gaming industry, with whom she wants to remain on good terms, for obvious reasons.<\/p>\n The Gaming Commission could absolutely allow cannabis \u2014 or at the very least remain either neutral or inactive on enforcement, daring federal authorities to make the first move.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n That\u2019s exactly how medical marijuana and then recreational cannabis became legal \u2014 state authorities defied the feds. In some cases, the feds did something. But in only a few cases. And look: weed\u2019s legal now.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t look for that kind of maverick behavior from gambling palaces. Casinos are not known for taking risks. There\u2019s a reason why the house always wins and casinos remain a fantastically profitable venture. The odds are squarely in their favor.<\/p>\n In a way, this is good \u2014 this means Vegas\u2019s biggest power brokers aren\u2019t taking a bite out of weed. At least for now. This means in a few years\u2019 time, those who really need to mix cannabinoids and casinos might be able to play the slots at a medical marijuana dispensary \u2014 instead of buying a few grams at the Wynn.<\/p>\n TELL US,<\/strong> do you think casinos should allow cannabis?<\/p>\n The post Safe Bet: Why Vegas Casinos Won\u2019t Gamble on Allowing Marijuana<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Federal regulations will have to change in order for casinos to collaborate with Nevada\u2019s legal adult use cannabis industry. She\u2019s not yet joined the four-member Congressional Cannabis Caucus, but since Dina Titus represents Las Vegas in the House of Representatives, she becomes one of the most marijuana-friendly lawmakers in WashingtonContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[50,80,170,1534,228,26],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20956"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20956"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20956\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20957,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20956\/revisions\/20957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Safe Bet: Why Vegas Casinos Won\u2019t Gamble on Allowing Marijuana<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"