Cannabis coffee – coffee foam, marijuana leaf on rustic wood background
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California municipalities can allow cannabis businesses to open cafes where patrons can consume cannabis while also serving non-cannabis food and beverages.
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1775 into law yesterday, allowing certain cannabis retailers to prepare and sell non-cannabis foods and beverages, similar to coffee shops in Amsterdam, and to live in licensed locations. He admitted to hosting events and selling tickets.
New law allows licensed cannabis retailers and small businesses in California to sell non-cannabis food and beverages and live in designated areas for on-site cannabis consumption, pending local approval. Performances are permitted. It would ban the sale of products containing industrial hemp, require proper ventilation and restrict its use to people over 21 years old. The initiative, modeled after Amsterdam's cannabis cafes, aims to help cannabis businesses diversify and compete by expanding their offerings.
Previously, legal marijuana dispensaries in California could not sell food or beverages. The new bill is expected to take effect next year.
Governor Newsom vetoed an earlier bill last year, citing concerns about anti-smoking workplace protections. He encouraged the bill's author, Rep. Matt Haney (D-San Francisco), to make changes. The version signed Monday includes provisions ensuring employees are informed about the risks of second-hand smoke and allowed to wear masks.
But critics raised concerns that the bill could normalize smoking in public and benefit the tobacco industry. For example, Jim Knox, managing director of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), expressed strong disappointment with the decision.
“As the nation's leading cancer patient advocacy organization, ACS CAN is deeply disappointed that the California Legislature and Governor Newsom have prioritized the profits of the marijuana industry over public health. It violates Proposition 64, which explicitly states that smoking marijuana is prohibited in prohibited locations. It also weakens the state's smoke-free restaurant law and weakens its enforcement. “This threatens to roll back decades of hard-won protections for everyone's right to breathe clean, smoke-free air,” he said in a press statement.
The cannabis cafe bill was signed one week after Governor Newsom enacted an emergency ban on all hemp-THC products in California. The ban, approved by the Office of Administrative Law, would immediately ban the sale of hemp THC products, effectively cracking down on related product categories in the state's cannabis industry.
Newsom defended the hemp THC ban, citing concerns that lax regulations would allow minors to access intoxicating products. He stressed that the purpose of the ban was to prevent the psychoactive effects of cannabis, especially to protect children.
The Los Angeles Times reported that hemp business advocacy group U.S. Hemp Roundtable and other hemp businesses have filed a court challenge to Newsom's emergency hemp THC ban. Comedy duo Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong (aka Cheech & Chong) have joined forces to file a lawsuit against the California Department of Public Health through their company, Cheech & Chong's Cannabis Company. They aim to overturn the ban on detectable THC in hemp products. Contains delta-8 THC, which is found in supplements, foods, and beverages.
The ban, which will be in effect until March 2025, is described as an “interim” measure while lawmakers adjust regulations.
California's growing acceptance of marijuana use and crackdown on THC-containing marijuana reflects an ongoing “battle” between the cannabis and hemp industries over the legal definition and regulation of intoxicating marijuana products.
The debate focuses on whether to close a loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill that potentially allows the sale of psychoactive hemp products with minimal regulation.
While some cannabis companies are trying to close loopholes to reduce competition, the cannabis industry wants to maintain the current definition of cannabis and is instead advocating for stricter safety regulations. Lawmakers are divided on the issue, which is expected to be a major topic in the next farm bill.
