Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

Weed:

New downtown pot dispensary ‘shatters all stereotypes’

MedMen Downtown

Steve Marcus

Elvis Presley tribute artist Shane Paterson poses with showgirls Brittany Dunn, left, and Greta Jones during the grand opening of a MedMen marijuana dispensary, 823 S. 3rd St., in downtown Las Vegas Wednesday, July 18, 2018.

MedMen Downtown

MedMen president and co-founder Andrew Modlin cuts a ceremonial ribbon during the grand opening of a MedMen marijuana dispensary, 823 S. 3rd St., in downtown Las Vegas Wednesday, July 18, 2018. Launch slideshow »

A location that once stood as a colorful brick dispensary turned bright red Wednesday as showgirls and local politicians welcomed North America’s most powerful dispensary chain to downtown Las Vegas.

MedMen, which in June opened at a valuation of $1.7 billion on the Canadian Securities Exchange, cut the ribbon Wednesday night to its second valley location at 823 S. 3rd St., the former home of New Amsterdam Dispensary. The new dispensary will sell a full range of pot products, produced at its mega-production facility that opened this year in Northern Nevada, as well as popular Nevada brands from growers and cultivators in the valley.

The Los Angeles-based pot retailer's other location is at 4235 Arctic Spring Ave. in the northeast valley.

“Las Vegas has been on our radar since the beginning,” said MedMen co-founder and President Andrew Modlin. “It’s one of the top markets, along with California and New York, where we want to be present.”

Known for its Apple store-like approach to selling weed, MedMen offers its customers touchscreen stations where the components of each product and plant can be visually explained with photos and brief text descriptions. Staff are trained to be “inviting and helpful, but not overbearing,” said company spokesman Daniel Yi, similar to a retail store like Macy’s or Nordstrom.

State Sen. Tick Segerblom and Las Vegas Councilwoman Michele Fiore were among those on hand for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Fiore thanked Modlin and co-founder Adam Bierman for “revolutionizing” the way marijuana is marketed and sold.

“This is not a pot store,” Fiore said as a crowd of about 50 cheered. “This is a retail store that shatters all stereotypes.”