Could Cannabis consumption lounges be a thing in Sacramento?
The city of Sacramento is looking into potentially allowing cannabis consumption lounges at dispensaries in the city.
This means that onsite consumption of cannabis would be a possibility for Sacramentans.
A possible pilot program was discussed at Tuesday's council meeting, leading local cannabis business owners to jump at the idea.
Maisha Bahati, CEO of Crystal Nugs, is opening up a new two-story dispensary in the heart of midtown Sacramento and she's ahead of the game.
Bahati let KCRA 3 into her building, which has a lounge for cannabis consumption almost ready to go.
"We secured this space almost two years ago when we found out that we received one of the 10 equity dispensaries in Sacramento," Bahati said.
However, the city of Sacramento still has to develop the potential ordinance change that authorizes social consumption consistent with what state law allows and it will include feedback on public safety from communities that have already established "consumption lounges," before a pilot program is launched.
The city council meeting heard from over three dozen residents — most of whom supported social lounges for cannabis consumption.
"Some people can't consume at home. Some people can't consume in their apartments or in their rental homes. And so, where are they doing? They're kind of out in front of everyone and now everyone is affected. So allowing social consumption lounges is going to really make a mark on Sacramento," Bahati said.
Conversations about the consumption lounges will return to the law and legislation Committee in the coming months.
Other cities that already have cannabis consumption lounge areas are Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Coachella, and San Francisco.
Right now, those facilities aren't expressly allowed to prepare non-cannabis food and drinks.
But California lawmakers recently passed a bill that would allow cannabis consumption facilities to serve "non-cannabis food or beverage products" like cafes in Amsterdam. The bill, which would also allow ticketed entertainment events at the facilities, is on Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk.
