SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A pilot program allowing onsite consumption at dispensaries could soon be launched in Sacramento.
Consumption lounges are located in several cities throughout California. The Sacramento city council has researched the impacts over the past few years in deciding if they should be allowed in the city of trees.
The pilot program would add two types of consumption lounges. The first would allow dispensaries to sell cannabis-infused drinks and edibles. The second type would allow people to also smoke cannabis onsite.
However, the smoking facilities would need to have additional safety requirements like having negative pressure smoking rooms to keep smoke from traveling to other areas of the dispensary.
Councilmember Katie Valenzuela has led the charge to get cannabis lounges in Sacramento for the last two years.
She says adding the lounges will provide a safe place for people to learn about cannabis without affecting other people.
“If you have kids at home, you can keep it completely away from them. It never comes into the house,” Valenzuela said.
Back in July, an onsite consumption area was allowed at the Sacramento State Fair for the first time. It was through that that Valenzuela sees future consumption lounges being successful.
“There were dozens and dozens of people there from all walks of life mingling and hanging...I could just get a picture of what this experience looked like and what it would mean for Sacramento to really lead on this in our region,” Valenzuela said.
The push comes at the same time as a new state law allowing onsite consumption sites to sell food and drinks.
Health organizations like the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association and the American Cancer Society all opposed the new law, saying it rolls back California’s anti-smoking laws.
“California’s pioneering smoke-free laws covering workplaces, restaurants, bars and public places have been responsible for greatly reducing smoking rates and deaths due to tobacco use. With marijuana use beginning to eclipse that of cigarettes, California must build upon smoke-free policies, not chip away at them,” the organizations wrote in a joint statement.
Maisha Bahati, the CEO of Crystal Nugs in Sacramento, believes the proposed measure would create a place for Sacramentans to socialize and consume cannabis in a safe environment.
The Crystal Nugs dispensary has planned for the day onsite consumption lounges are legalized in Sacramento since its inception. Bahati says they already have a dedicated space ready to be opened.
“You're going to be around like-minded people…we want to have live music, comedy shows, a game night, just a normal place where people can come and can consume cannabis,” Bahati said.
While Valenzuela understands people have health concerns, she points out other cities have already implemented the lounges and have done so with safety in mind.
“This is a reason that people would come to Sacramento because they want to try this out because they want to see how it works because they're curious about what it would be like to be in a community setting where they’re using their cannabis products,” Valenzuela said.
There are two more hearings scheduled for the proposal. The first meeting will go over the potential health impacts the program would have. The second meeting would be the final vote for the program.
Valenzuela hopes for the final vote to be held at the end of October, but nothing has been officially scheduled yet.
