California pot shops can serve food and drinks like Amsterdam cafes under new bill

Californians will be able to eat, drink and spark up at Amsterdam-style cannabis cafes under a new bill signed by Gov.Gavin Newsom this week.Beginning on Jan.

1, cities in the Golden State can allow marijuana dispensaries to serve fresh hot food and non-alcoholic beverages to their clientele and even host live concerts and comedy shows.“Cannabis cafes are going to be a huge part of the future of cannabis in our state and help to beat back the illegal drug market,” Assemblyman Matt Haney (D-San Francisco), who authored the bill, told the Los Angeles Times.Stoners can already smoke, vape and scarf down edible samples at some dispensaries, but the businesses are only permitted to sell prepackaged snacks and drinks to customers. The new bill is modeled off that of Amsterdam, where cannabis has been available at coffee shops for half a century, according to the paper.Haney and other supporters of the bill believe that a more relaxed and comfortable cannabis culture could breathe fresh air into the state’s nightlife and provide a much-needed boost to the state’s $5 billion marijuana industry.The bill was backed by the United Fruit and Commercial Workers’ Union, whose numbers have been steadily growing among dispensary and grow facility workers.Detractors, however, claimed the measure will bring back the health risks associated with secondhand smoke nearly 30 years after California banned smoking cigarettes indoors.

Newsom vetoed legislation similar to Monday’s bill last year over health concerns.“As I stated in my veto message of a similar measure last year, protecting the health and safety of workers is paramount to upholding California’s long-standing smoke-free workplace protections,” Newsom said in a statement.“I commend the author for incorporating additional safeguards, such as expressly protecting employees discretion to wear a mask for respiration, paid for at the expense of the employer, and requiring employees to receive additional guidanc...