The Emmy-winning actor and longtime marijuana activist is urging Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign legislation that would permit Amsterdam-style cannabis cafes in California. After all, he has a personal stake in the matter: He’s a co-owner of the Woods WeHo cannabis dispensary and lounge in West Hollywood.
“We just need a tiny little crumb and that is the ability to sell noncannabis items in the lounge,” Harrelson said in a recorded video that the bill’s author, Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco), posted Monday on Instagram. “I don’t see how that hurts anybody. Let’s please make this happen.”
The three-time Oscar nominee, who last year visited Capitol Hill to urge lawmakers to legalize marijuana at the federal level, called the California bill “extremely important” for lounges and dispensaries across the state that are facing closure due to “all of the taxation, all of the regulation which is crippling our industry.”
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“I’m actually an anarchist. I don’t even like government,” the actor said, “but here I am trying to do the right thing, and I hope that Newsom, etc. will do the right thing.
A representative for Harrelson did not respond immediately Wednesday to The Times’ request for additional comment.
Newsom last year vetoed a prior iteration of the bill, citing concerns about “long-standing smoke-free workplace protections.”
“At the governor’s urging,” Haney in January introduced a revised version of the bill which has since passed the Assembly and state Senate with ease. Newsom has yet to issue a verdict.
If signed, AB 1775 would authorize local jurisdictions to allow licensed cannabis retailers to prepare and sell non-cannabis food and nonalcoholic beverages. The bill would also allow the cafes to host live music and other performances.
H/T: www.latimes.com
