A California legislator is reviving a proposal to allow cannabis cafés in the state.
Assembly Bill 374, which would allow Amsterdam-style lounges where cannabis products could be sold alongside food and drinks, was vetoed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in October.
However, Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco), the bill’s author, is reviving the bill, he posted to X, formerly Twitter.
As he pointed out when quoting a San Francisco Standard report, “the bill passed the state Assembly and Senate with ‘broad partisan support.'”
Newsom, however, was worried the bill “could undermine California’s long-standing smoke-free
workplace protections,” the governor wrote in a statement at the time.
“Protecting the health and safety of workers is paramount,” Newsom added. “I encourage the author to address this concern in subsequent legislation.”
Haney plans to cooperate with Newsom’s office and the state’s Department of Cannabis Control to “resolve those concerns,” Marijuana Moment reports.
As the law currently stands, consumption lounges are allowed, though only cannabis products can be sold, not items like food and drink.
Some businesses use a legal loophole to have a technically separate business “deliver” food and drink products to consumption lounge customers, but AB 374 would allow one business to sell both cannabis and non-cannabis products.