Even as retailers anticipate pulling in more tourist traffic<\/a> as a result of the development, lung experts cite health concerns connected to the move.\u00a0<\/p>\n ONE CANNABIS MISTAKE AT AIRPORT COULD BRING 10 YEARS IN PRISON AND $15,000 FINE<\/a><\/p>\n Under the new ordinance, cannabis may only be consumed on the premises and cannot be taken off-site. Alcohol and tobacco, meanwhile, are prohibited.<\/p>\n Operators must also obtain a Department of Public Health consumption permit alongside their Office of Cannabis permit<\/a>, meet restaurant food safety standards and electronically verify every customer’s age at the door.<\/p>\n San Francisco is one step closer to allowing licensed cannabis retailers to operate Amsterdam-style cannabis caf\u00e9s. These venues will be able to serve food and nonalcoholic drinks under a newly approved ordinance. (iStock)<\/p>\n The measure supports AB 1775, a 2024 state law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom that allows cities to issue licenses for cannabis caf\u00e9s, as local outlet KQED reported. In a statement, Rafael Mandelman, board president, said San Francisco “just gave our legal cannabis industry a real tool to compete and grow,” the outlet reported.\u00a0<\/p>\n He also cited the potential economic benefits of attracting more visitors<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mayor Daniel Lurie, a Democrat, signed the legislation July 23. On August 23, the Office of Cannabis will begin accepting applications for cannabis caf\u00e9 permits.<\/p>\n SMOKING AND VAPING MAY BE BANNED AT ONE STATE’S MOST POPULAR BEACHES AND PARKS: HERE’S WHY<\/a><\/p>\n The passage of the cannabis caf\u00e9 legislation “marks a new initiative for the city\u2019s economic recovery and for the broader cannabis community,” said Nikesh Patel, director of the San Francisco Office of Cannabis.<\/p>\n Patel’s office “is working closely\u00a0with other city departments to implement this new permit type responsibly, while maintaining core services to\u00a0enforce compliance across the industry,” he told Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n “Today\u2019s products are far more potent than in previous decades.”<\/p>\n Amy O’Gorman Jenkins, executive director of the California Cannabis Operators Association, told Fox News Digital she thinks other cities “can and should consider similar models,” assuming San Francisco’s experiment is a success.<\/p>\n “The purpose of authorizing cannabis caf\u00e9s was to transform a brief retail transaction into a hospitality experience,” she said.<\/p>\n WORLD\u2019S MOST BEAUTIFUL AIRPORT CROWNED AND IT\u2019S RIGHT HERE IN THE UNITED STATES<\/a><\/p>\n “Allowing this activity in San Francisco will attract visitors \u2026 and generate broader economic activity,” she asserted.<\/p>\n O’Gorman Jenkins said cannabis caf\u00e9s “are not simply dispensaries where people can stay longer.”<\/p>\n The proposal builds on California’s AB 1775, which allows cities to license cannabis caf\u00e9s under state law. (Getty Images)<\/p>\n O’Gorman Jenkins mentioned that AB 1775 has safeguards to protect employees from excessive secondhand smoke \u2014 but not everyone agrees.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018Wrong direction\u2019<\/p>\n A representative from the American Lung Association told Fox News Digital the ordinance moves San Francisco “in the wrong direction,” because of secondhand smoke.<\/p>\n “Permitting cannabis lounges normalizes [the] deleterious effects of smoking cannabis and exposes the adjacent properties to secondhand cannabis smoke, which contains many of the same toxic chemicals, carcinogens and fine particulate matter found in tobacco smoke,” said Kesa Bruce, director of California Advocacy for the American Lung Association<\/a>.<\/p>\n TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ<\/a><\/p>\n “Employees working in cannabis caf\u00e9s would be required to spend hours each day in an environment where they are repeatedly exposed to harmful airborne pollutants simply to do their jobs,” Bruce contended.<\/p>\n “We\u2019re seeing very real mental, emotional and physical consequences in clinical settings every day.”<\/p>\n “There\u2019s a widespread belief that marijuana is \u2018natural\u2019 and therefore harmless,” Corey Gamberg, a mental health and addiction specialist who serves as executive director of the Rockland Recovery Center and Massachusetts Center for Addiction, previously told Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n “In reality, today\u2019s products are far more potent than in previous decades, and we\u2019re seeing very real mental, emotional and physical consequences in clinical settings<\/a> every day.”<\/p>\n CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER<\/a><\/p>\n Trent Carter, a board-certified nurse practitioner, addiction recovery expert and founder of Renew Health, an outpatient treatment center in New Mexico, also noted that marijuana has become a more commonly accepted substance \u2014 but he’s seen some negative effects in his own patients.<\/p>\n “As time went on, I discovered that the vast majority used marijuana to treat a number of mental and physical issues, only to induce a litany of other symptoms as a result,” he told Fox News Digital earlier this year.<\/p>\n Licensed cannabis caf\u00e9s would be prohibited from serving alcohol or allowing tobacco use under the ordinance approved by San Francisco supervisors. (Stefano Guidi\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n The proposal sparked discussion on a San Francisco Reddit forum, where users expressed excitement.<\/p>\n “This is sooooo needed. Can\u2019t wait,” a commenter wrote.<\/p>\n “I’ll be seeing you guys there in 10 years when the first caf\u00e9 finally opens!” another joked.<\/p>\n CLICK HERE FOR MORE LIFESTYLE NEWS<\/a><\/p>\n Others were skeptical about the plans.<\/p>\n “I hope this [will] limit some public weed smoking,” one person said. “It\u2019s such an anti-social behavior. Don\u2019t like getting hit with other people\u2019s big puffs out on the street.”<\/p>\n Another person wrote, “It would be nice to have more social spaces<\/a>, but the indoor smoke makes them pretty much un-attendable for more than a few minutes.”<\/p>\n Online reaction was mixed, with some San Francisco residents calling the proposal long overdue. (iStock)<\/p>\n The proposal also comes as cannabis increasingly intersects with the travel industry<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Woman](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SF-CANNABIS-CAFES-TRAVEL-WHAT-TO-KNOW-2.jpg\")
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