LOS ANGELES — When the calendar flipped to 2025, new rules came into place for some cannabis cafe owners in the state. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed off on bill AB1775, which allows cannabis cafes to sell food that doesn’t come pre-packaged and non-alcoholic drinks. 

Jay Handal owns The Woods WeHo, a dispensary that is now able to give customers the option to buy pastries and fresh coffee. 

“I think it’s one of the smarter things the state has allowed in the cannabis industry,” Handal said. “It obviously increases the business because it broadens the number of people able to come here and enjoy as a community group as opposed to having to just split up, and saying, well I can’t go there cause I don’t smoke, or I can’t go there cause I don’t do THC.”

State data shows California has collected more than $6 billion in tax revenue from marijuana sales since 2018, and the new rules could add to those numbers. 

But the bill faced some opposition. The American Heart Association says the new rules rollback roughly 30 years of progress the state made in protecting workers from second-hand smoke at the workplace. 

“We believe this bill circumvents our statewide smoke-free workplace, and does not protect workers from the impact of second-hand smoke,” said Jamie Morgan, the state regional lead for the AHA. “We know there’s no safe level to exposure from second-hand smoke.”

Brody Davidson works at The Woods Weho. He says he’s aware of the risks of being employed in a place where customers are allowed to smoke, but he’s prepared to deal with the risks. 

“It’s like any other job, it’s outdoors, and I’m not suffocating,” Davidson said. “I don’t mind it too much. I barely even see it or really notice it.”

Handal says that now that the new rules are in effect, he expects to see many more cannabis cafes opening up around Southern California. 

“After prohibition, how many bars opened? it’s gonna be the same thing,” he said. “When you open up this industry to the general public, cause it really isn’t at this point, right now it’s all dispensaries popping up around town, but consumption lounges is really the next step.”