Welcome to Sunday weed brunch

A growing number of businesses in California are opening cannabis cafes, where customers can buy and light up – or eat – marijuana products on the premises.

🌿 A deeper dive... The trend represents the latest attempt by the state’s weed industry to compete with an illegal market that’s still thriving more than four years after legalization, per the NY Times.

• While California voters legalized marijuana in 2016, a provision in the measure gave local governments the ability to ban cannabis businesses – and the majority of them did.
• Today, 62% of local cities and counties still don’t allow any kind of marijuana retail, though some have said they’re considering allowing cannabis lounges to attract tourists and increase tax revenue.

✋ Yes, but… There are several regulatory complications that California’s cannabis cafes need to navigate, such as a statewide ban on indoor smoking, as well as laws meant to protect employees from working in smoke-filled environments.

🌎 Zoom out: Cannabis consumption lounges have also popped up in other legal states and countries, like Oregon, Nevada, Michigan, and Canada.