hemp

Grass

California pharmacies won’t be able to quickly convert their businesses into cafes where they can sell food and host live concerts.

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday vetoed a bill that would have legalized Amsterdam-style cafes in the state and allowed the cannabis industry to host customers in a more inviting lounge setting.

While it is not technically illegal for customers to consume cannabis in a dispensary, it is illegal for a dispensary to sell non-cannabis products such as coffee or food. Assembly Bill 374, also called the Cannabis Cafe Bill, would not have cleared the way for dispensaries to serve alcohol, but it would have given them the ability

pharmacies

to move away from a pharmacy-like business model.

In his veto of the bill, Newsom cited

concern about

California’s longstanding smoke-free workplace protections.

“Protecting the health and safety of workers is of paramount importance,” Newsom wrote in his veto message. “I encourage the author to address this concern in future legislation.”

The nonpartisan advocacy group the American Cancer Society applauded Newsom’s decision.

We commend Governor Newsom for prioritizing public health and protecting Californians’ right to breathe clean, smoke-free air,” said Jim Knox, Chief Executive Officer of the

American cancer

S

society

‘S

Cancer Action Network in California reported this in a statement. “The carcinogens found in marijuana smoke pose numerous health risks to the individual user and to others in their presence. Additionally, secondhand marijuana smoke can transmit THC, exposing non-users to its psychoactive effects.”

The author of the bill, Assembly

memberman

Matt Haney (D-San Francisco), said voters have already approved smoking in pharmacies and the bill would have allowed those businesses to serve food and drinks to their customers.

“I appreciate and respect the governor’s concerns about worker health,” Haney said in a statement. “And I look forward to working closely with his office and with union leaders to ensure we get this right when I introduce the bill next year.”

The bill was intended to give the legal cannabis industry a chance to compete with the black market, Haney said, because legal companies have higher costs to produce and sell their products, while illegal growers bypass safety regulations and product testing and not pay taxes.

“It’s really about fairness and supporting businesses that play by the rules,” Haney said in a statement. If we continue to allow unnecessary regulations to strangle California’s legal cannabis businesses, we would only encourage illegal drug sales and all the problems that come with them.

Prior to Newsom’s veto, Haney explained that the cannabis industry was missing an important social component. While it is legal to smoke cannabis in a dispensary, it is still technically illegal to smoke in public in California.

There’s just a huge opportunity to bring people into these establishments to safely and legally consume cannabis, and create community and culture at the same time, Haney told The Times last month as the bill passed the state Assembly on a 66-9 vote accepted. and the Senate in a final vote of 33-3.