The global cannabis industry is maturing, demands are increasing and better reforms are being enacted for the industry to attain a mature market. The not-so-new innovation that is becoming prevalent now is the "cannabis consumption lounge".

The basics

The best way to explain this is to liken it to a bar. Simply put, a bar is an alcohol consumption lounge, that is a public space where alcoholic drinks are consumed. Therefore a cannabis consumption lounge is a licensed and safe space for a group of people to consume cannabis.

Cannabis lounges may just be the best element to make cannabis socially acceptable by all age groups in the country. It will go a long way in ensuring an equitable industry that caters to all.

Holiday festivities have been curtailed by the global resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic, and its unprecedented social and economic effects. During this turbulent season, cannabis companies all over North America continue to do what they can to support local charities and populations in need.

So, let this 2020 holiday season be lit with the warmth of giving. Here’s a short list of holiday fundraising activities led by cannabis industry members, bringing happiness and help to so many for the season as we all look forward to a new year in 2021:

Hundreds of people waited for hours in long queues on the first day recreational marijuana went on sale in the US state of Nevada. 

Tourists joined locals to mark the event as Nevada became the fifth state with stores selling cannabis to the public. 

Veteran consumers, first-time buyers, twenty-something and retirees were among those who defied Los Angeles' hot temperature to get to the stores on the first of the new law. 

Some shops decided to open shortly after midnight, when the law officially came into force. 

As Nevada celebrates legal marijuana, cannabis tech companies play a pivotal role in ensuring an effective marijuana market

A prime example is free anonymous marijuana network app Leafedin.org, which is an all in one application that focuses not just on dispensaries and certain business models but allows a platform for all marijuana community participants, entities, and models (B2B, B2C, P2P, etc)

Now that Las Vegas has officially started selling recreational marijuana as of Saturday, pot tourists should learn the rules before they get high, legal experts say.

In Nevada, gambling, drinking, and even some prostitution is allowed. Marijuana may fit right in.

"It's always crazy, so it's going to be fine, I guess," said Ilze Mondragon who was flying to Las Vegas for her birthday.

It's estimated two thirds of recreational marijuana users in Las Vegas will be tourists, so what do locals think?

"There are still a lot of legal ramifications," Las Vegas resident Spencer Cranney said.

You can't use marijuana in hotels, on the Strip, in public, or in restaurants.

The line of people outside Blüm Reno extended around the building's front and partially down its side.

About 65 customers stood at 8:45 a.m. Saturday outside the South Virginia Street marijuana dispensary, waiting for the front door to open. No longer restricted to medicinal cannabis only, the dispensary had opened at midnight that day — the exact first moment it could legally sell recreational cannabis under Nevada law. It remained open for about six hours and closed briefly before again opening at 9 a.m.

Some customers, eager for the first chance to buy recreational cannabis, shouted out how many minutes remained until opening. Fifteen, then nine, then five.

Letters were mailed to eligible license holders in the state, but Chris Thompson, the executive director for the Las Vegas chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) said with few responses, tax commissioners approved a temporary regulation that would allow the department to make exceptions for non-wholesalers.

In May, the Independent Alcohol Distributors of Nevada filed a complaint saying the booze wholesalers should have exclusive rights to the licenses and that a May 31 license deadline for the wholesalers should not be enforced.

At the end of May, a judge ruled in the alcohol wholesalers favor. But state officials have said they intend to appeal this ruling.

Nevada, the only state where both gambling and prostitution are legal, is adding recreational marijuana to its list of sanctioned indulgences for adults, with sales kicking off at more than dozen shops beginning on Saturday.

As result of a legalization measure approved by Nevada voters in November, the state will join four other U.S. states and the District of Columbia in allowing recreational sales.

Authorized marijuana shops will be able to sell up to one ounce (28 grams) for recreational use by customers 21 years and older, said Stephanie Klapstein, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Taxation.

Emergency regulations passed June 26 have changed edible marijuana products expected to go on sale July 1 around Reno. These are some products that had been expected to be available but many will now require packaging changes or will be discontinued. Wochit

Nevadans will vote on whether to legalize recreational marijuana this election.(Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Nevada marijuana dispensaries are going to have to get rid of or hastily sell any leftover edible marijuana products that become illegal starting this weekend.