In a defining moment, California is set to take its cannabis industry into a full-blown Amsterdam-style cafe experience, where customers can use cannabis next to food and entertainment.
That is after the recent signing of Assembly Bill 1775 by Governor Gavin Newsom into law, finally setting the Golden State as the truly eclectic cannabis hub it has always promised to be.
The new law provides specifically that, beginning next year, licensed cannabis retailers and microbusinesses may offer so much more than traditional cannabis products, including food and beverage service that is not cannabis, live entertainment, and the sale of tickets on licensed premises may be allowed by the adoption of a local ordinance.
This will be a unique approach, making the experiences of cannabis enthusiasts holistic, while on the other hand, it will introduce new ways in which businesses can thrive in this highly competitive market.
Taking a cue from Amsterdam’s infamous cannabis cafes, California is all set to offer that kind of quirkier cultural setting that will marry responsible cannabis consumption with socializing and entertainment.
But it had taken much legwork to get here: an earlier version this year got spiked by Gov. Newsom due to concern about workplace safety.
This revised bill, carrying the will of Assemblyman Matt Haney, a San Francisco Democrat, adds employee protection and education on the perils of secondhand smoke as a way of trying to assuage concerns.
While many are rejoicing in this progressive move, not everyone is pleased with the new law. Jim Knox, the managing director of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, or ACS CAN, lambasted the bill’s potential impact on public health:
“As the nation’s leading cancer patient advocacy organization, we’re extremely disappointed that the California Legislature and Gov. Newsom put the interests of the marihuana industry ahead of public health. AB 1775 runs afoul of Proposition 64, which unmistakably states that smoking marijuana shall be prohibited wherever smoking tobacco is prohibited. It also undermines the state’s smoke-free restaurants law and impairs its enforcement, threatening to roll back decades of hard-won protections of everyone’s right to breathe clean, smoke-free air.”
Supporters argue that, despite those concerns, the new law strikes a balance between business opportunity and public safety through age restrictions, proper ventilation of growing sites among other limits, and it bans products made from industrial hemp.
As California takes the next step in this new phase of cannabis regulation, it ushers in a new paradigm that other states will follow.
Ultimately, the success of these establishments may change not just the way cannabis is consumed but also the ways of society at large.
With Assembly Bill 1775, California once again takes the lead regarding the progressive agenda on cannabis policy and gives a glimpse into a future where the responsible use of cannabis will be offered side by side with the food experience and live entertainment.
Harkening to their next great leap into the unknown, the whole world will look upon California to determine how this bold experiment will play out in the years ahead.
