New Bill Would Bring Amsterdam-Style Cannabis Cafes To California Without The Loopholes
The bill hopes to help struggling pot businesses diversify
Amsterdam-style cannabis cafes may soon be able to come to California, thanks to a newly introduced bill in the Legislature. Introduced on Monday by Assembly Member Matt Haney, D-San Francisco, the bill would allow weed shops to serve food and coffee, and host live music events.
The bill hopes to help struggling pot businesses diversify in such a saturated market, and emulate the classic cannabis cafes made popular in Amsterdam, where customers can purchase a pastry and coffee alongside their cannabis. Haney’s office said the 700 cannabis cafes across the Netherlands have attracted over 1.5 million visitors a year, citing a chance for California to turn cannabis consumption into a social experience and tourism draw into empty downtowns.
“Lots of people want to enjoy legal cannabis in the company of others,” said Haney. “And many people want to do that while sipping coffee, eating a scone, or listening to music. There’s absolutely no good reason from an economic, health or safety standpoint that the state should make that illegal,” Haney said in a statement. “If an authorized cannabis retail store wants to also sell a cup of coffee and a sandwich, we should allow cities to make that possible and stop holding back these small businesses.”
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