Marijuana is set to become legal next month for recreational use, but don’t expect to partake while playing those spinning, colorful slot machines at Plainridge Park Casino, at least not anytime soon.
“The good news is that the casinos in this state are non-smoking,” said Enrique Zuniga, a member of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, which oversees Plainridge Park Casino in Plainville and the two casinos being built in Everett and Springfield.
Zuniga’s comments Tuesday came during a discussion started by Stephen P. Crosby, the commission chairman, who called this month’s ballot measure vote to legalize recreational marijuana “a very big change in the state’s social landscape.”
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“It’s a big enough deal that we need to know what the implications are for casinos,” Crosby said.
The measure, known as Question 4, was approved by about 54 percent of voters.
Commission member Gayle Cameron said smoking marijuana will not be allowed in public places, including casinos. But Zuniga noted that smoking tobacco is currently allowed in a designated area outside the Plainridge casino and wondered if that could eventually be expanded to include marijuana.
Edward R. Bedrosian Jr., commission executive director, brought up another consideration: edibles, the marijuana-infused products like brownies that have proliferated in states that have legalized use.
Bedrosian also raised the question of marijuana use in hotel rooms at the MGM Resorts casino in Springfield, slated to open in 2018, and the Wynn Resorts casino in Everett, which is expected to open in 2019.
“There are implications,” he said.
Crosby said the commission will contact its counterparts in states where recreational marijuana is already legal, such as Colorado and Oregon.
In 2008, Massachusetts voters approved a ballot measure that replaced criminal penalties for the possession of one ounce or less of marijuana with a system of civil penalties. Four years later, Massachusetts voters backed an initiative making marijuana legal for medical use. This year’s referendum vote allows shops selling marijuana to open in January 2018.
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Sean P. Murphy can be reached at smurphy@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @spmurphyboston.