Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill legalizing “cannabis cafes” and allowing commercial events there. The American Cancer Society condemned the law, noting secondhand marijuana smoke is often just as bad, if not worse, than cigarette smoke.
California banned indoor smoking at entertainment venues in 1998, making this bill a major reversal in state policy. It’s unclear if the law will allow individuals to smoke marijuana mixed with tobacco, as is the custom in Amsterdam, the city whose “coffeeshops” (cafes that sell cannabis and coffee) the bill references as a model.
Last year, Newsom vetoed a nearly identical bill over concerns it would undermine the state’s long-standing smoke-free workspace protections.
“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 longstanding smoke-free workplace protections,” said Newsom in a statement his signing of AB 1775. “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 guidance on the risks of secondhand cannabis smoke.”
“While I am signing this bill, any future measure that diverges from this tailored approach will not be looked upon favorably,” continued Newsom.
The American Cancer Society strongly condemned the bill, noting the carcinogenic and toxic effects of marijuana smoke can exceed those of cigarette smoke.
“AB 1775 violates Proposition 64, which explicitly states that smoking marijuana is prohibited wherever smoking tobacco is prohibited,” said Jim Knox, California managing director for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, in a statement. “Secondhand marijuana smoke has many of the same carcinogens and toxic chemicals as secondhand tobacco smoke and has higher levels of fine particulate matter, which can cause cardiovascular disease, lung irritation, asthma attacks and make respiratory infections more likely.”
While cannabis retailers are not supposed to sell alcohol or tobacco, it’s unclear if individuals will be able to smoke cannabis mixed with tobacco at the new cannabis cafes, as is standard custom in Amsterdam’s “coffeeshops” the new California law envisions as a model. Amsterdam’s coffeeshops nominally ban smoking of tobacco, but accounts of lax enforcement on smoking of mixed marijuana and tobacco are widespread on social media.
