A bill that would allow Amsterdam-style cannabis cafes in California passed the state Assembly Monday afternoon by a vote of 49-4 and is headed to the Senate. But even if the upper house of the Legislature approves AB 1775, legalization remains far from a sure thing.
Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed an earlier version of the bill in October, citing the state’s longstanding smoke-free workplace protections.
The bill would authorize local jurisdictions to permit licensed cannabis retailers to prepare and sell non-cannabis food and non-alcoholic beverages. The bill would also allow cafes to host concerts and other performances.
Under current state law, consumers can consume cannabis at a dispensary, but dispensaries cannot legally sell non-cannabis products like coffee and food, as is the case in Amsterdam .
California’s symbolic position at the pinnacle of weed culture has long been rivaled by the Dutch capital, where cannabis cafes have been legal since the 1970s.
Rep. Matt Haney (D-San Francisco), who introduced the bill, framed it as an issue of fairness. He says the cafes would level the playing field for the heavily taxed and regulated legal marijuana industry, allowing legitimate businesses to compete with black market sellers who don’t operate under the same constraints.
“This is a bill that supports our small, legal businesses that just want to diversify their businesses and do the right thing,” Haney said on the Assembly floor Monday. “The illegal market continues to grow and thrive, while our legal cannabis market is struggling. »
Haney cited the governor’s earlier veto, saying he worked to address Newsom’s concerns by changing the bill. The new version would ban smoking or vaping cannabis in the “backroom” of lounges, where food is prepared or stored, creating a separation between where people consume cannabis and other work areas .
Rather than taking a heavy-handed statewide approach, the bill would put the decision to allow cannabis cafes in the hands of local jurisdictions. If a jurisdiction decides to allow trade shows, it will need to develop its own permitting process and regulations.
West Hollywood implemented a licensing system several years ago, and a handful of cannabis lounges operate across the city’s 1.89 square miles. West Hollywood businesses operate with workarounds that separate food businesses, the Times previously reported.
No such licensing system exists in the City of Los Angeles.
The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Heart Assn. and the American Lung Assn. all opposed the bill, raising concerns about the health effects of second-hand marijuana smoke. They argue the bill would roll back hard-won workplace protections “by recreating the harmful work environments of the past.”
Marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access argued that customers and employees face no health risk due to the highly regulated nature of these establishments.
A spokesperson for Newsom declined to comment on the pending legislation.
Staff writer Nathan Solis contributed to this report.
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