AB 1465 Cannabis: consumption cafe lounge license

This bill is part of the 2019 Cannabis Bills section of our ongoing update on California Cannabis Legislation – see the full California Cannabis Law Legislative Update which includes information on cannabis bills from other years. 

AB 1465  (Bloom D)   Cannabis: consumption cafe/lounge license.

Existing law, the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA), approved by the voters as Proposition 64 at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, regulates the cultivation, distribution, transport, storage, manufacturing, testing, processing, sale, and use of marijuana for nonmedical purposes by people 21 years of age and older. The Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA), among other things, consolidates the licensure and regulation of commercial medicinal and adult-use cannabis activities.

This bill would create a new license, to be known as a consumption cafe/lounge license, which would authorize the retail sale to, and onsite consumption of cannabis or cannabis products by, adults 21 years of age or older, as provided. The bill would allow, for a specified period of time, a licensed retailer to apply for a consumption cafe/lounge designation that would authorize that licensee to sell cannabis and cannabis products for onsite consumption subject to specified restrictions.

AUMA prohibits a person from smoking or ingesting cannabis or cannabis products in a public place, except as specifically provided by local authorization, or in a location where smoking tobacco is prohibited. AUMA makes a violation of these location prohibitions punishable as an infraction, as specified.

This bill, as an exception to those prohibitions, would permit a person to smoke or ingest cannabis or cannabis products at a licensed consumption cafe/lounge and a licensed retailer with a consumption cafe/lounge designation.

Read more about California Cannabis Legislation – see the full California Cannabis Law Legislative Update.

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