California Assembly Committee has approved a Senate passed bill that legalizes marijuana cafes. This allows dispensaries to sell non-cannabis foods and drinks if local approval is received.
The Assembly Business and Professions Committee approved the bill on Tuesday, 15-2. This was about a month after it passed the Senate. The measure will now be sent to the Governmental Organization Committee, before it could move to the Assembly floor.
The bill is in large part consistent with the separate proposal that was passed by the Assembly late last month to authorize cannabis cafés.
The proposal would allow retailers and microbusinesses who receive local government authorization to allow adults aged 21 or older to smoke, vape and consume cannabis products in their establishments, where they could also prepare “noncannabis foods and beverages.”
To obtain local approval, social use sites must restrict access to under-21s and keep cannabis consumption hidden from public view. They also need to prohibit alcohol and tobacco use.
If these conditions are met, localities may also allow the sale of prepackaged noncannabis infused nonalcoholic foods and beverages at licensed retailers.
The Senate Bill differs from Legislation that was passed by the Assembly in December. This is because the latter would explicitly allow “live musical or any other performances at the premises of retailers or microbusinesses licensed under this division, within the area where cannabis consumption is permitted and the sale tickets for these performances”.
Both bills would allow retailers and microbusinesses to sell freshly prepared food and beverages, but limit the sale of prepackaged foods to retailers. This is in line with the regulations that the Department of Cannabis Control adopted last year.
California businesses have used workarounds that allow on-site food consumption, while still providing it to guests. But they have operated in a gray area by partnering with restaurants that are separately licensed and receive the profits.
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The Assembly Committee’s vote took place the same day as Nevada regulators approved the first conditional licenses for marijuana lounges . This brings three operators closer to opening cannabis social use spaces.
The Senate in California has also passed a bill which would prevent employers from asking applicants about previous marijuana use. The bill would expand employment protections passed last session, which prohibit employers from penalizing workers who use cannabis according to state law while off the clock.
The sponsor of a bill passed by the Senate to legalize possession of certain psychoactive substances and facilitate their use is facing a “challenging path” towards passage in the Assembly.
The state marijuana regulators also announced that on Tuesday, they had awarded $4.1 millions to cities and counties throughout the state in support of local cannabis business licensing programmes working to address the unmet demand from consumers and to help curb the illicit marketplace.
Last month, the California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development announced separately that more than $50,000,000 in grants funded by marijuana taxes had been awarded to California communities.
DCC also recently awarded nearly 20 million dollars in grants funded by marijuana taxes to 16 academic institutions for the study of cannabis, including novel cannabinoids such as delta-8 THC, and the genetics “legacy strains” from the state.
California has also taken steps to extend its marijuana market outside of the state’s boundaries. Regulators recently requested a formal opinion by the state attorney general’s office about whether allowing marijuana commerce between states would place the state at a “significant risk” for federal enforcement actions.
The governor’s signed law last year, which empowered him to enter agreements with other states that allow the importation and exportation of marijuana products.
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The article California Assembly committee approves bill to legalize marijuana cafes that already passed Senate first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
