03 Jan Get Ready for Amsterdam-Style Cannabis Cafés in California

A cannabis plant catches the sun at Sugar Hill Farm in Philo, Calif. on Oct. 8, 2023. (Nikolas Zvolensky / The Madrones via Bay City News)

By Katy St. Clair
Bay City News

Those in California who’d like a latte with a side of weed have gotten their wish now that a new law goes into effect that permits licensed cannabis dispensaries to add sit-in cafés to their sites.

Using the city of Amsterdam as a blueprint, Assembly Bill 1775 allows on-site consumption of cannabis next to freshly prepared food and beverages.

The law doesn’t mean that any restaurant or café can suddenly sell cannabis and allow it to be smoked there. It means that existing cannabis dispensaries will now be able to also offer an on-site café.

“To be clear, we are not saying that coffee shops should be allowed to sell cannabis,” said the bill’s sponsor, Assemblymember Matt Haney, D-San Francisco. “We’re saying cannabis shops should be allowed to sell coffee.”

Haney had to reboot his original push for the bill after Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed it the first time around in 2023. Newsom was concerned about protecting employees from secondhand smoke, he said.

Newsom signed the new bill into law in September. It includes safeguards for employees, such as providing masks for workers exposed to secondhand smoke, and employers must ensure proper ventilation. And, as with most cannabis laws in the state, local jurisdictions can still decide if and how they want to implement any cannabis cafés.

Since its legalization in 2016, cannabis has generated billions for the state (over $6 billion since 2018, according to the California Tax and Fee Administration) but the illegal market has also skyrocketed.

Countering the illegal market was one of the goals with Haney’s bill, which was “an attempt to level the playing field for the highly taxed and regulated cannabis industry that is being forced to compete in California with a thriving cannabis black market,” his office said last January.

In 2022, the Department of Cannabis Control said that the state’s illegal market generated $1 billion in sales. The California Tax and Fee Administration cited $5.3 billion in legal sales for that same year, down just over 8% from 2021.

Haney said that the Netherlands was successful in countering its illegal cannabis market when it legalized its iconic cannabis cafes in the 1970s. These cafes — in a country 10 times smaller in size than California — also generate about $1 billion in tourist revenue every year, he said.

Haney thinks that the new law will bring more people into the state, saying now is the time for California to be at the forefront of what could be a billion-dollar tourist industry that would rival the state’s wine draw.

“Lots of people want to enjoy legal cannabis in the company of others,” said Haney in a statement released by his office in October. “And many people want to do that while sipping coffee, eating a sandwich, or listening to music. That is now finally legal in California and there’s no doubt that cannabis cafes will bring massive economic, cultural and creative opportunities and benefits to our state. California is once again leading the way in supporting legal, safe cannabis businesses and culture.”

The law went into effect on Wednesday, but it could take up to a year for these businesses to expand, since they will have to get approval from their local governments.

Haney said San Francisco and West Hollywood already have plans in the process of approval or in place to support such licensing.

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