High Art? Las Vegas’s New Cannabis Museum Has Hunter S. Thompson’s Chevy and the World’s Largest Glass Bong

Yes, that's the actual "Red Shark" Chevrolet Caprice from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

Hunter S. Thompson’s widow, Anita Thompson, with his 1973 Chevrolet Caprice at the Cannibition Cannabis Museum, where it is on loan. Photo courtesy of Cannibition.

High times are coming to Las Vegas with an immersive new pop-up “museum” celebrating the art, history, and culture surrounding marijuana. The Cannabition Cannabis Museum opened last week, full of pot-themed photo ops and what is being billed as the world’s largest glass bong, the 24-foot-tall “Bongzilla.”

“It’s actually glow-in-the-dark glass, and it’s actually a hittable bong,” founder JJ Walker told the Las Vegas Sun. (Nevada legalized the recreational purchase of marijuana a little over a year ago ago, though public consumption of the drug is still banned.) He hopes the museum, which is open to guests 21 and older, will help de-stigmatize the drug. To that end, the experience includes some educational components explaining the difference between indica and sativa, for instance.

According to the museum’s frequently asked questions, “Cannabition takes guests on an immersive journey from seed to the end-user experiences of cannabis.” The display features artistic and interactive areas such as a bed in the shape of a marijuana seed, an indoor cannabis grow facility, a field at harvest time full of seven-foot-tall marijuana plants, and a giant joint ready to be “smoked.”

Like any good Instagram trap there’s a ball pit, which takes the form of a pool of “nugs,” or marijuana buds made of foam, and the chance to pose with a larger-than-life leaf-shaped edible gummy. A “420 Room” includes a large light-up 420 sign and a tribute to the popular white rhino marijuana strain.

The Cannabition Cannabis Museum. Courtesy of Cannabition.

The Cannabition Cannabis Museum. Courtesy of Cannabition.

The 12-room, 9,000-square-foot museum also features the Hunter S. Thompson’s actual “Red Shark” 1973 Chevrolet Caprice, seen in the film adaptation of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. The author called the vehicle a “mobile police narcotics lab,” filled with “two bags of grass, 75 pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half full of cocaine, and a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers.”

Outside, visitors are greeted by a trippy 170-foot-long mural by airbrush artist Gear Duran that features famous pot enthusiasts such as Jimi Hendrix.

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The museum celebrated its impending opening last month with a sneak peek event that included a hemp rope burning ceremony in place of a traditional ribbon cutting. It hopes to add a marijuana lounge where guests can smoke or enjoy other cannabis products in the near future.

The Cannabition Cannabis Museum is located at 450 Fremont Street #140, Las Vegas, Nevada. General admission is $24.20. The $42 VIP ticket allows you to skip the line and comes with a $10 gift shop credit. 

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