On Monday, May 20, California’s assembly overwhelmingly approved a bill that has the potential to add additional spaces for cannabis enthusiasts to smoke their favorite joint and amplify business for LA’s existing dispensaries. If Assembly Bill 1775 clears its way through the state senate and is later signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, cities like Los Angeles could significantly transform cannabis culture and even mirror the success of West Hollywood, which has the county’s only legal cannabis consumption lounges.
Even though adult use of cannabis is legal throughout the state, smoking or eating cannabis is a tricky activity outside of cannabis clubs, private events, or private residences. Smoking anywhere in public is otherwise illegal in the state. According to the city Department of Cannabis Regulation, consuming cannabis at LA dispensaries is also prohibited. These restrictions have allowed West Hollywood’s approach to flourish since the 2019 opening of its first cannabis lounge, the Cannabis Cafe. West Hollywood’s other three cannabis lounges that are currently in operation are Artist Tree, the Woods, and PleasureMed.
Since 2017, the cannabis-friendly municipality has been working overtime to coin its tax revenue-generating and job-creating hospitality genre as the Emerald Village. West Hollywood might actually earn that designation when all 16 consumption lounges that have received permits ultimately open. Currently, cannabis consumption comes at a high price and limits who can afford to smoke, vape, or eat an edible in one of the four lounges. Before tax and tip, a burger, nachos, coffee drink, and pack of pre-rolls cost $80 at the Cannabis Cafe.
After Newsom vetoed Assemblyman Matt Haney’s 2023 bill that would’ve allowed Amsterdam-style cafes in the state, the legislator reintroduced an updated cannabis cafe bill in January 2024. AB 1775 addresses Newsom’s concerns surrounding California’s smoke-free workplace protections and lets local governments decide whether to allow cannabis retailers to sell non-cannabis-infused food and beverage items and host events or live entertainment.
When asked for comment about AB 1775, the Department of Cannabis Regulation responded via email:
“The Los Angeles Department of Cannabis Regulation has been following the movement of AB 1775. Its recent passage by the California State Assembly is worth noting and the Department understands the unique opportunity it might represent for the City and our local entrepreneurs. We eagerly await news as it moves on to the Senate.”
If Los Angeles dispensaries were permitted to take advantage of AB 1775, consumers could find a less pricey option for those who want to walk into a dispensary and order an instant ramen while drinking a cannabis-infused soda. West Hollywood’s Emerald Village would finally have some competition for its consumption lounges. The changes would be a relief and possible revenue boost for California’s heavily taxed dispensaries, which are struggling to keep up with the black market.
Chris Sayegh, a longtime cannabis chef who operated the now-closed CBD restaurant Nostalgia in Santa Monica, believes AB 1775 is a good start but says legislators need to have a better understanding of cannabis culture and licensing in order for the law to succeed. “AB 1775 is a positive for cannabis culture overall,” Sayegh says. “I hope AB 1775 can help fix cannabis’s licensing and [high] tax problems, but there definitely will be upset license holders in West Hollywood. It’s not a game changer for the cannabis industry yet.”
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