Crazifornia: Amsterdam-Style Cannabis Cafes Coming to a Neighborhood Near You

CALIFORNIA GLOBE/ Katy Grimes-

Sacramento is rolling out cannabis consumption lounges and cannabis cafes, under a bill just signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom. There will be permitted smoking lounges as well as edible lounges, similar to pot cafes in Amsterdam.

So lighting up a Marlborough light in a restaurant after a fine meal is illegal, but lighting up a doobie isn’t now?

Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1775 by Assemblyman Matt Haney (D-San Francisco), which allows cities in California to have marijuana dispensaries within marijuana cafes to prepare and serve hot food and nonalcoholic drinks, along with live entertainment, according to Newsom’s signing message.

“Lots of people want to enjoy legal cannabis in the company of others and many people want to do that while sipping coffee, eating a sandwich or listening to music,” Assemblyman Haney said Monday.

Sure. People “just want to enjoy cannabis in the company of others”… except “Smoke from marijuana is a mixture of many chemicals which may be dangerous. Marijuana smoke contains many of the same cancer-causing chemicals as tobacco smoke, and certain chemicals like cyanide and ammonia are significantly higher in marijuana smoke compared to cigarette smoke. Parents should keep their children away from marijuana smoke,” reports the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences.

Haney explains the justification for this new law:

California is famous for its cannabis culture driven by the state’s early adoption of medical cannabis and expertise in cultivation. But California fails to keep up with one city for the world title of cannabis culture: Amsterdam. In the Netherlands, Amsterdam’s cannabis cafes thrive as a part of the city’s unique social structure, and capitalizes on the social nature of cannabis through coffee, food, and live music – all opportunities that are currently illegal under California law. AB 1775 will allow cannabis retailers to diversify their business and move away from the struggling and limited dispensary model by selling non-cannabis-infused foods. Continue reading…