Cannabis Cafés Could Be Coming to California
Amsterdam-style cannabis cafés could be coming to parts of California, allowing dispensaries to sell items such as food and coffee.
The state Assembly passed AB-1775 Cannabis: Retail Preparation, Sale, and Consumption of Noncannabis Food and Beverage Products Monday, sending the bill to the state Senate for approval.
The legislation would allow local jurisdictions to decide whether places that sell cannabis can also offer their customers food and beverages and host live events, including music concerts, which is not allowed under the current law.
Critics say the new law would violate California's smoke-free workplace rules, which have been in place since 1994.
Various groups—including the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the American Heart Association and the American Lung Association—have opposed the bill, telling the Los Angeles Times that it would re-create "the harmful work environments of the past."
In October, Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed an earlier version of the bill for that reason.
Assemblymember Matt Haney, a Democrat from San Francisco who introduced the bill, said the legislation was adjusted to take the workplace rules into account.
A dispensary's ability to offer other products and entertainment would depend on several conditions, including a rule stipulating that the "smoking or vaporizing of any cannabis product by an employee or customer is not allowed in the food preparation, food storage, or warewashing area of a food facility located on the premises."
Businesses would also have to ensure that "noncannabis food or beverage products are not contaminated by or commingled with any cannabis products sold or served on the premises where the consumption of cannabis is allowed," the amended bill said.
Haney believes that the bill will make things fairer for legal weed businesses, which compete with the black market while working under heavy taxation and regulation.
He told the Assembly floor Monday: "This is a bill that supports our legal small businesses that just want to diversify their businesses and do the right thing. The illicit illegal market is continuing to grow and thrive, while our legal cannabis market is struggling."
The bill would not determine the specifics of the rules for the entire state, leaving it up to local authorities instead.
A licensing system in West Hollywood has helped some businesses work around the current laws by separating the selling of food and cannabis—like ordering from different servers, for example.
In the rest of California, people are allowed to consume weed at dispensaries, but they cannot purchase noncannabis food or drink items there.
