The Cannabis Compliance Board (CCB) is extending prospective cannabis lounge owners' deadline to submit all required documentation for a forthcoming suitability investigation, mainly regarding capital requirements. 

To pass the suitability investigation and receive a conditional license, applicants must prove to the state agency that oversees the state’s legal cannabis market that they control at least $200,000 in liquid assets. Independent and social equity applicants — those that do not already have a dispensary — are among the entities that haven’t turned in all the paperwork by the original deadline which was 120 days after winning provisional licenses last year on Nov. 30. 

During a Tuesday meeting, CCB Executive Director Tyler Klimas announced that provisional licensees have until the end of September to request another 90-day extension, stating that more than 19 entities have not submitted for an extension. 

“This can’t go on forever,” Klimas said. “But given where the economy is, especially as it pertains to cannabis right now, it's hard to get the investment necessary.”

The CCB on Tuesday also approved a conditional independent consumption lounge license for Winston Fisher, the co-founder and CEO of Area 15, where he plans to add an immersive cannabis experience to the campus for locals and tourists.

Briana Martinez, a lawyer who represents Area 15, told the CCB that the City of Las Vegas has already approved entitlements for the consumption lounge.

Owners of Inyo Fine Cannabis Dispensary on Maryland Parkway and Sahara Avenue were granted a conditional consumption lounge license for 900 feet of adjacent space that they are leasing. They plan to take some space away from the dispensary that was once used as a waiting area before recreational cannabis became legal — creating a 1,000- to 1,200-square-foot lounge.

David Goldwater, the co-owner of Inyo Fine Cannabis, said he hopes to partner with cannabis brands such as Green Life Productions, Cannavative, Stiiizy, Wyld or Nature’s Chemistry, similar to how Barnes and Noble bookstores partner with Starbucks.