Nevada casinos would make a titanic splash if they pushed to allow cannabis products to be consumed in their resorts. But don’t count on that happening anytime soon.

It seemed only natural after Nevada voters authorized the recreational use of marijuana in 2016 that the Silver State’s biggest and newest “sin industries” would one day overlap. But as for any potential relationship between Nevada’s casino and cannabis industries, experts say that at least in the near future, it’s a full stop.

The Biden Administration took steps toward decriminalizing marijuana two weeks ago when the Drug Enforcement Agency announced its intent to reclassify the drug from a Schedule I controlled substance to a Schedule III.

In Nevada, the first recreational marijuana dispensaries opened in July 2017. The budding business boomed and now there are 698 operational licenses across the state. However, it hasn’t been the financial windfall the cannabis industry was expecting. Easing the federal restrictions on marijuana by reclassifying it could assist businesses that said the federal tax is too much of a burden to thrive.

Leaders in Nevada’s multimillion-dollar legal cannabis industry are welcoming news that the Biden administration is working to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, but they say the devil will be in the details.

Nevada cannabis businesses and consumers could likely enjoy lower costs under a federal proposal to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, according to state cannabis experts.

A Democratic senator has introduced a bill to create federal incentives for states, localities and Indian tribes that expunge low-level marijuana records—an equity-focused reform proposal that leadership has repeatedly discussed attaching to bipartisan cannabis banking legislation that’s pending floor action.

Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) introduced a bill today to create a federal grant program to fund the expunging or sealing of state-level cannabis offenses — using federal dollars to achieve a goal of legislative Democrats who passed a similar bill in 2023 but were stymied by Gov. Joe Lombardo's (R) veto pen.

Understanding the historical context of cannabis regulation in the U.S. offers a backdrop to its current classification and potential rescheduling. Initially, when cannabis was unregulated, it was used both medicinally and recreationally. However, the 20th century brought a shift in perception, influenced by political, racial, and economic factors. The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 marked the beginning of federal cannabis prohibition.

Recreational cannabis is a $1 billion annual industry in Nevada that continues to grow — long-awaited consumption lounges finally are starting to open — since it launched in 2017. Yet, the illegal drug market remains strong here, industry experts said.

One of the biggest challenges facing the burgeoning cannabis industry – both in Nevada and nationwide – is the illegal market, experts say. Although it’s hard to know for certain exactly how much business the illegal cannabis market is drawing away from the legal one, experts say it could threaten the future of legal cannabis as the industry begins to grow into adolescence.

With cannabis consumption lounges poised to open soon in Las Vegas, the local university has opened the Cannabis Policy Institute.