A cannabis smoking lounge has opened in San Francisco, California, the Associated Press reports, and the Barbary Coast lounge is the first of its kind in the state. Nicole Elliot, the city’s cannabis “czar” indicated that more shops will be licensed once city health officials finalize the regulations.
Other California cities are also considering allowing these lounges: According to the report, West Hollywood has plans to approve eight, Alameda will permit two, Oakland and South Lake Tahoe will allow one. Sacramento and Los Angeles are still considering regulations but have not announced any plans.
Social use provisions are still not popular among cannabis regulators. Colorado does not allow social-use; however, Denver voters passed a ballot initiative to allow on-site cannabis consumption and last month the first license of its kind in the city was awarded to the Coffee Joint.
Alaskan regulators, in theory, support social use; however, there hasn’t been much movement on the issue since last August. Those draft rules would allow licensed cannabis retailers to obtain an on-site consumption endorsement and allow use in a designated area.
Massachusetts regulators voted 4-1 last month against allowing social-use; while lawmakers in Maine tasked with implementing the voter-approved law voted 10-4 to remove all references to social-use licensing from the proposed regulations.
Neither Oregon, Washington, nor Nevada allow social cannabis use.
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