Newsom vetoes bill allowing Amsterdam-style cannabis cafes in California
SAN FRANCISCO – A bill to allow Amsterdam-style cannabis cafes in California has been vetoed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, according to Assemblymember Matt Haney, who authored the legislation.
Assembly Bill 374 passed the Assembly with a 66-9 vote last month after previously being approved by the state Senate.
The legislation would have allowed local jurisdictions to authorize cannabis retailers to prepare and serve non-cannabis food and beverages and to sell tickets to live performances.
Newsom said he vetoed the bill out of concern that the bill as written could undermine the state's smoke-free workplace protections, but that he did "appreciate" that cannabis business owners need to create more revenue streams.
Haney, D-San Francisco, has said the bill was meant to allow struggling cannabis businesses to diversify away from the marijuana-only 'dispensary' model and "bring much-needed tourist dollars into empty downtowns."
In a statement released Sunday, Haney said, "Californians are proud of our state's wine culture, and we do everything we can to make sure that our winemakers receive the support they need—we need to be doing the exact same thing for cannabis. If we don't start better supporting these businesses we are going to lose decades of being at the forefront of the cannabis movement and other states will be ready to swoop in and take it from us."