Illinois’ first social-use cannabis lounge is set to open next week, the Southern Illinoisan reports. The Luna Lounge, in Sesser, will open its doors on July 10—or 7/10 —the unofficial cannabis holiday celebrating cannabis concentrates or oil.
The lounge can host 60 people at a time and owner Holly Roeder told the Southern that presale tickets have already sold out for the grand opening, which will include a block party; however, consuming cannabis outside of the lounge is forbidden under state law which does not allow cannabis use in public spaces.
The Smoke-Free Illinois Act was amended following broad cannabis legalization in the state to allow for consumption lounges. Local governments are allowed to create their own rules for social-use businesses, as long as they meet basic guidelines outlined by the state, including limiting customers to 21-and-older, designating specific areas for consumption, and keeping the door to that area locked, the report says.
Luna customers will have to bring their own cannabis and the lounge will offer papers, pipes, and other accessories for purchase or rent.
In March, Roeder had told the Southern that she planned to open the business by May, but the date was pushed back due to construction delays and project cost increases. The cost for all building materials has increased during the coronavirus pandemic, with brick prices rising 3.5%, concrete and related products prices jumping 3.6%, cement prices increasing 3%, glass costs growing 2.4%, steel pipe and tube, and stainless steel costs rising 6.4%, and hardwood and softwood lumber increasing 19.6% and 78.8%, respectively, according to an UpNest analysis.
Roeder said that the businesses have not been affected by the coronavirus-related labor shortage and she has been getting “resumes by the buttload,” which she attributes to the lounge being “a weird, cool business.”
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