Map Shows States Where You Can Go To Amsterdam-Style 'Cannabis Cafés'

Newsweek
Thu, Sep 12
Key Points
  • There are now 12 states in the U.S. where it is legal to smoke weed in a dedicated café, with only five states having built one or more consumption lounges.
  • Massachusetts has one private cannabis lounge for members to consume their own marijuana.
  • Afar magazine recommends eight cannabis cafés across the country, including options in California, Illinois, New York, and Colorado.
  • Amsterdam has been known for its cannabis coffee shops, but in 2021, the city's mayor wanted to ban foreign tourists from these establishments due to issues with badly behaved visitors.

There are now 12 states in the U.S. where it is legal to smoke weed in a dedicated café, but only five of them have built one or more consumption lounges.

The states that currently allow for the on-site use of cannabis in lounges include Alaska, California, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, and New York.

In Massachusetts public social consumption of cannabis is illegal, but there is one private cannabis lounge which does not sell marijuana, but allows members to consume their own, the Worcester Business Journal reported.

Afar magazine recommends eight cannabis cafés across the country.

Cannabis cafés in California include one in San Francisco called Moe Greens, one in West Hollywood by the name of The Studio Cannabis Smoking Lounge & Weed Dispensary, which also runs 'Puff Puff Paint' events to harness creativity. There is also one in Oakland called Root'd in the 510.

Per the outlet, in Illinois, Mundelein Rise Mundelein Lounge was the first cannabis cafe to open east of the Mississippi, and Chicago's Wake-N-Bakery serves a mix of cannabis-infused baked goods and drinks.

In New York City, Stoned Pizza serves pizza infused with marijuana, and in Denver, Colorado, the Coffee Joint became the first place you could publicly consume cannabis in the state in 2018.

Yale School of Medicine Professor Anahita Bassir Nia told Newsweek that from a public health perspective, she believes "there should be regulations and restrictions" around cannabis cafés, and that education for those who choose to use cannabis is needed, "so that they make an informed decision."

Cannabis cafes have been a long-standing association with Amsterdam's famous "coffee shops," acting as a tourist attraction as well as offering people a place to consume cannabis in public.

However, the council and mayor in Amsterdam have recently been fighting to reduce the impact of badly behaved tourists.

In 2021, Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema wanted to ban foreign tourists from the cafés, the BBC reported.

Correction 9/13/2024 09:52 a.m. ET: This article was updated to reflect that Afar's list of cannabis cafés is not exhaustive.

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