LAS VEGAS
POTPOURRI
LAS VEGAS AND CANNABIS CONSUMPTION MAY SOUND LIKE A MATCH, BUT WITH SO MANY
THINGS TO DO AND SO MANY OPTIONS TO CONSIDER CONSUMING, HOW DO YOU KNOW WHICH
BUZZ-BUILDER TO BET ON? TO CUT THROUGH THE CANNABIS CLUTTER, WE TAPPED TOP
BUDTENDERS (THOSE WHO WORK BEHIND THE COUNTERS) AT A SELECTION OF THE CITY’S
DISPENSARIES AND ASKED THEM FOR A FEW POT-PAIRING POINTERS.BY ADAM TSCHORN
WHEN THERE
ARE WEDDING
BELLS
> If you’re visiting Vegas
without a vehicle, beat feet
to Essence Cannabis Dis-
pensary (2307 S. Las Vegas
Blvd.), a small dispensary
on the northern end of the
Strip between the Sahara
and Stratosphere.
The interior feels spare and
clinical but the staff is
friendly, knowledgeable
and patient with the walk-
in canna-curious. Because
the shop is just a few steps
from the Chapel of the
Bells, budtender Lil Bit
Atkinson offered some
wedding-specific recom-
mendations.A BACHELORETTE
PARTY-STARTER
> “Think edibles,” Atkinson
said. “Consider a THC-
infused drink like Canna-
Punch’s Pineapple Mango
Delight, which is good for
socializing, or BaM Pretzel
Bites (above), THC-infused
caramel sandwiched be-
tween two pretzel squares
and dipped in chocolate.”WEDDING-NIGHT
WIND-DOWN
> “Go with a topical — like
an intimacy oil,” she said.
“Evergreen Organix makes
a really nice one that you
can use as a massage oil.
It’s a base of coconut oil
infused with vanilla es-
sence, lavender oil and
cannabis.”Illustration by Kelsey Dake.
Photographs by, from left,
Shannon Dorn;
Zachary Jorgensen
Cultivation-Virtue Las Vegas;
Bohemian Brothers; Chris WrenIF YOU’RE
GOING TO
A CASINO
> Jardin Premium Canna-
bis Dispensary (2900 E.
Desert Inn Road), about
three miles east of the
Strip, caters mostly to lo-
cals and the celebrity set
(including 2Chainz, who
shot an episode of Vice-
land’s “Most Expensivest”
here). It’s also where you’ll
find veteran budtender
Brandi Lawrence.IF YOU’RE HOPING
TO COURT LADY LUCK
ON THE CASINO FLOOR
> or at a bare minimum
keep focused, Lawrence
suggested a sativa. “Or
maybe a hybrid, because a
hybrid will give you a nice
balance and keep you from
being too jittery,” she said,
recommending Viva La
Buds’ Bruce Banner for its
relaxing but not sedating
effects, and Virtue’s Pure
Haze (above), which she
says keeps the mind alert
but the body relaxed. “You
don’t want to be too up-
tight but you want to still
be able to focus,” she said.IF YOU’RE
PULLING AN
ALL -NIGHTER
> NuWu Cannabis Market-
place(1235 Paiute Circle) is
about three miles north of
the northern end of the
Strip, so you’ll need a car,
cab or ride-share. (Do not,
under any circumstances,
consume cannabis and try
to drive.) It’s home to a
24-hour drive-through and
the only legal cannabis
consumption lounge in the
city because it’s on sover-
eign land. The 10,000-
square-foot store, fronted
by floor-to-ceiling glass
walls, feels like a trendy
brewpub. It’s where you’ll
find Jackie Mondragon,
one of the dispensary’s
standout budtenders, mak-
ing her recommendations
based on different strains’
terpene profile (the aro-
matic oils).IF YOUR AIM IS TO
STAY UP UNTIL THE
SUN RISES,
> look for a strain high in
the terpene pinene “be-
cause it promotes alertness
and keeps you up,” said
Mondragon, adding that
it’s also prized for its ability
to combat inflammation,
“so if you’re up and about
and moving around, your
feet won’t swell as much.”
Two high-pinene strains at
NuWu are Smoke Signals
Reserve OG Pebbles and
Bohemian Brothers’ Star-
berry (above).IF YOU’RE
SEEING
ASHOW
> Planet 13 Las Vegas Dis-
pensary (2548 W. Desert
Inn Road) is about half a
mile west of the Strip but
draws about 115,000 visitors
a month by providing the
same kind of over-the-top
visual stimulation as
Strip properties do (think
neon trees sprouting from
the roof and an hourly
choreographed indoor
drone show).IF YOU’RE HEADED
TO ONE OF THE CITY’S
MYRIAD CIRQUE DU
SOLEIL SHOWS,
> Chad Henry, one of the
dispensary’s 85 budtenders,
has a preflight recom-
mendation: a sativa or a
sativa-dominant hybrid if
you plan to be in a theater
seat. “[Medizin’s] Mango
Kush (above) is a fantastic
option,” he said. “It’s ex-
tremely cerebrally stimulat-
ing but not to the point
that you’ll want to get up
and move. ... You can sit
there relaxed and enjoy
everything that’s coming
at you.”F12 LATIMES.COM/TRAVEL
WHERE
IT’S LEGAL
> Although recreational
cannabis use is legal in
Nevada and has been
since 2017, public con-
sumption is not, and this
includes at most hotel
and casino properties.VARIED
EFFECTS
> You’re likely to hear the
folks across the counter
using technical-sounding
jargon when making their
recommendations. Of the
two types of cannabis
plant, cannabis sativa is
thought to produce a
more energetic, uplifting
high, while cannabis
indica produces a more
mellow, relaxed high. A
hybrid of the two shares
some characteristics of
both.MAKING
SCENTS
> You’re also likely to hear
alot about terpenes, the
aromatic oils that give
different cannabis strains
their distinctive smells
(limonene has a citrusy
scent, for example, while
pinene is redolent of pine
trees).HOW TO
DO IT
> The effects of THC
(tetrahydrocannabinol),
the psychoactive com-
pound in cannabis, can
vary by person and con-
sumption method (smok-
ing versus ingesting it, for
example), so be cautious.
You can always take
more, the saying goes, but
you can’t take less.WHAT
YO U
SHOULD
KNOW