Sacramento, Calif. – The California Legislature passed Assembly Bill 1775 this evening, which, if signed, will allow cities and counties to permit cannabis consumption sites to prepare and sell food and beverages that do not contain cannabis, effectively turning them into restaurants where smoking is allowed. Cancer advocates across the state urge Gov. Gavin Newsom to veto the bill because it violates Proposition 64, which explicitly states that smoking marijuana is prohibited wherever smoking tobacco is prohibited. This bill would also undermine the state’s smoke-free restaurants law and compromise its enforcement, thus threatening to roll back decades of hard-won protections of everyone’s right to breathe clean, smoke-free air.
The following is a statement from Jim Knox, California managing director for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN):
“Nearly thirty years ago, California boldly forged the path to protect everyone from the dangers of secondhand smoke when it became the first state in the nation to prohibit smoking in almost every indoor public space. As Americans are now using marijuana at higher rates than cigarettes and alcohol, California has the opportunity to reaffirm its role as a champion for public health. To do so, it must build upon smoke-free policies, not weaken them.
“Smoke-free laws are popular because they work. They have played a pivotal role in slashing smoking rates and bringing overall tobacco use to historically low levels. They have helped create a cultural shift around smoking indoors, contributing to reduced tobacco use initiation, especially among youth, and increased quit attempts by people who smoke.
“We cannot jeopardize the progress we’ve made in creating safe, smoke-free environments and reducing tobacco-related health disparities by making exceptions to well-established laws in the name of the marijuana industry’s interests.
“We urge Gov. Newsom to reject this egregious effort to prioritize profit over health and veto Assembly Bill 1775.”