Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Cannabis museum in Las Vegas gives sneak peek, will open in September

Cannabition Cannabis Museum Ceremony

Steve Marcus

Las Vegas City Councilman Cedric Crear, left, State Sen. Tick Segerblom, center, Democratic candidate for District E county commissioner, and Cannabition founder JJ Walker, chat in the Cannabition Cannabis Museum, under construction at Neonopolis, in downtown Las Vegas Thursday, Aug. 30, 2018.

Cannabition Cannabis Museum Ceremony

A marijuana bud is shown in a bouquet of flowers during a ceremony at the Cannabition Cannabis Museum, under construction at Neonopolis, in downtown Las Vegas Thursday, Aug. 30, 2018. Launch slideshow »

Visitors to the Cannabition Cannabis Museum in downtown Las Vegas are welcomed by a 170-foot-long mural that documents historic time periods for cannabis. The art includes rock icon Jimi Hendrix, a notable weed enthusiast, among others.

The 9,000-square-foot museum has 12 exhibit rooms, a full bar, a retail store with marijuana paraphernalia and an array of products.

It will open Sept. 20, when downtown will welcome many visitors for the Life is Beautiful festival.

“We’ll do a whole weekend celebration,” said J.J. Walker, the museum’s founder. “It’s timed with Life is Beautiful.”

One room in the museum is called the “420 room” and includes a gigantic 4-2-0 installation in lights. A nearby wall features a white rhino bursting through the wall to symbolize a popular stain of marijuana.

“It’s really the beginning of the journey,” Walker said. “We’re going to take visitors from seed to high. It’s a larger-than-life experience with large installations, Instagramable areas and a multisensory journey.”

Officials say the museum will also be educational, with information on the history of cannabis, which they say has a history dating back thousands of years. Another section of the museum is dedicated to the environmental benefits of marijuana, showing visitors that the plant is more than just a substance to inebriate them. That’s followed by information on harvesting, where the use of cannabis in food is explained.

The main attraction at the museum is the 24-foot-tall glass “Bongzilla,” billed as the world’s largest bong.

“It’s actually glow-in-the-dark glass, and it’s actually a hittable bong,” Walker said.

Assemblyman Tick Segerblom, who championed recreational marijuana becoming legal in Nevada, sees the museum being the next step in the evolution of marijuana in Las Vegas.

“It’s really the next level for the city and marijuana,” Segerblom said. “It’s going to take (this), along with consumption lounges, to make Las Vegas the next Amsterdam. That’s what I’ve been pushing. Anything happens in Vegas … so let’s make sure the world knows about it.”

Cannabition Cannabis Museum will be open from 4:20 p.m. until midnight, and admission is $24.20 for visitors and $14.20 for Nevada residents, with valid state identification. A VIP package is available for $42.