California Rolls Back Smokefree Workplace Protections for Cannabis Hospitality Venues
Major downgrade in California’s commitment to providing workers with a healthy, safe, smokefree work environment.
September 30th Sacramento, CA—Governor Newsom has signed Assembly Bill 1775, the cannabis café bill, into law, signaling a major downgrade in California’s commitment to providing workers with a healthy, safe, smokefree work environment.
AB1775 will allow California cities and counties to permit cannabis/marijuana retailers to sell food and non-alcoholic beverages, and sell tickets to performances, including concerts. In practice, cannabis retailers can now become restaurants, cafes, and entertainment venues where cannabis smoking and vaping is allowed indoors.
California’s hospitality workforce has enjoyed smokefree worksites since 1998, but now jurisdictions have the ability to roll back these successful public health protections for some workers. Likewise, the voter-approved Proposition 64 that legalized cannabis in 2016 specifically prohibits cannabis smoking wherever tobacco smoking is prohibited, which includes restaurants, bars, and other hospitality venues.
Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights is deeply disappointed in Governor Newsom’s decision to put the cannabis industry ahead of the right of California’s workers to breathe smokefree air on the job.
In August, AB1775 passed the full Senate after being amended to include language that the bill sponsor claims will address worker health concerns, by adding language promoting ventilation systems. This amendment does not help address worker health concerns because ventilation systems are not an effective solution for protecting health from secondhand smoke exposure.
Last year, Governor Newsom vetoed AB374, a nearly identical cannabis café bill, saying in his veto message: “I am concerned this bill could undermine California's long-standing smoke-free workplace protections. Protecting the health and safety of workers is paramount." What has changed in one year, other than increased pressure from the cannabis industry?
Cannabis industry proponents of AB1775 unsurprisingly took a page right out of the tobacco industry’s playbook. They made outrageous claims that indoor smoking and vaping is needed for cannabis businesses to grow and thrive, while ignoring the very serious threat of rolling back longstanding worker health protections.
The California Nightlife Association and California NORML are industry supporters of AB1775, saying "[cannabis] businesses must expand to survive. Selling food, drinks, and an experience is a way to help them expand and survive,” while the United Food and Commercial Workers Union wrote in support, "Giving this industry the chance to grow will create jobs and help cities and communities thrive."
In reality, cities and communities cannot truly thrive when they choose to risk the health of workers in these new jobs. As always, the industry is putting their profits ahead of people.
By signing AB1775 into law, California must now face the consequences of promoting cannabis industry business interests over the imperative to maintain public health protections.
It is now up to California cities and counties to protect their hospitality workforce by passing stronger local smokefree indoor air provisions that prevent indoor smoking and vaping at cannabis retailers.
Read more:
AB1775, Cannabis Cafe Bill - On The Governor's Desk
Tell Governor Newsom to VETO the bill
Californians can see ANR’s action alert to speak up!
Assembly Bill 1775, the cannabis café bill, would allow cannabis/marijuana retailers to sell food and non-alcoholic beverages, and sell tickets to performances, including concerts. In practice, this bill could create restaurants and entertainment venues that allow indoor smoking and vaping of cannabis.
AB1775 would be a significant roll back of smokefree workplace protections that California has provided to hospitality workers and patrons for the last 26 years.
On August 28, AB 1775 passed the full Senate after being amended to include language that the bill sponsor claims will address worker health concerns, by adding language promoting ventilation systems. This amendment does not help address worker health concerns because ventilation systems are not an effective solution for protecting health from secondhand smoke exposure. The bill is now at the Governor’s Desk.
See our action alert here to send a letter to Governor Newsom.
Governor Newsom Vetoed AB374, Upholding Smokefree Air
California workers can breathe easier now that Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a cannabis café bill that would have created a significant roll-back to the state’s long-standing smokefree workplace protections.
Assembly Bill 374 would have allowed marijuana/cannabis retailers to sell food, non-alcoholic beverages, and sell tickets to concerts and other events. The bill would have created restaurants, cafes, and entertainment venues that allow indoor smoking and vaping—meaning that workers at these marijuana hospitality venues would be breathing toxic secondhand smoke on the job.
Read more about the threats posed by AB374 in ANRF’s blog post from August 2023.
AB374 passed through the legislature this 2022-2023 session, despite opposition from tobacco control and other public health partners. The majority of the messages heard at the legislature and in the media promoted the bill as a way to create more economic opportunity for marijuana retailers, which would have been at the expense of the health and safety of California’s workforce. ANR thanks Governor Newsom for vetoing the bill on October 10 to upheld the right of California workers to breathe smokefree air on the job.
In his veto message, Governor Newsom said: "I am concerned this bill could undermine California's long-standing smoke-free workplace protections. Protecting the health and safety of workers is paramount."
All workers should have equal protection on the job, and no one should have to sacrifice their health for a paycheck. Just like any other form of smoking and vaping, marijuana shouldn’t be used in ways that harm other people.
California’s smokefree workplace protections are intact for now, but advocates in California and every other state that has legalized adult-use marijuana needs to stay attuned to potential efforts in 2024 to weaken smokefree air laws to expand where cannabis can be smoked or vaped, especially in indoor environments like hospitality venues. The marijuana industry will continue their work to chip away at public health protections in order to normalize their product and maximize their profits.
Tobacco Industry Continues to Fight California’s Flavored Tobacco Law
12/8/2022
In the latest example of the tobacco industry continuing its dirty tricks to prevent meaningful public health protections, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco filed an emergency application with the U.S. Supreme Court to prevent California’s new flavored tobacco products from going into effect, claiming that California’s law violates federal tobacco product laws.
In response, ANR joined a group of 23 public health, medical, and community organizations in filing an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court opposing R.J. Reynolds' injunction, spelling out the critical public health justification and need for California’s law and explaining how the law is not in violation of any federal laws.
Previously, R.J. Reynolds filed a lawsuit challenging California’s flavored tobacco law the day after it was upheld by voters on the November 2022 ballot, but the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied Reynolds’ attempt to block the law.
Background: In August 2020, the California legislature adopted SB793 to end the sale of flavored tobacco products with a few exemptions. As soon as SB793 was signed into law, tobacco companies began working to overturn this important public health legislation and spent millions of dollars to gather enough signatures to put the issue on the November 2022 ballot as Proposition 31. California voters saw through the tobacco industry’s deceptive actions and upheld the decision to end the sale of flavored tobacco products with Proposition 31 receiving 63.4% of the vote.
Public Health Groups Amicus Motion & Amicus Brief
MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE BRIEF AS AMICI CURIAE AND BRIEF OF PUBLIC HEALTH, MEDICAL, AND COMMUNITY GROUPS AS AMICI CURIAE IN OPPOSITION TO THE EMERGENCY APPLICATIONS FOR WRIT OF INJUNCTION
State's Opposition Brief
OPPOSITION TO EMERGENCY APPLICATION FOR WRIT OF INJUNCTION
Three Dangerous Marijuana Bills
September 15, 2021
California legalized the adult use of marijuana in 2016, and now communities and the state are facing threats to smokefree air laws and other public health protections. Read more on our Marijuana page about three bills that have been introduced regarding marijuana in California.
Tobacco Industry Interference
Same Old Story
Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds are at it again in California, seeking to overturn the recently signed flavors law by sending thousands of petition workers out to collect signatures with misinformation.
IN THE NEWS
OCTOBER 20, 2020
The Los Angeles Times outlined a complaint of illegal signature gathering filed by the Tobacco Free Kids Action Fund in its article "Campaign to overturn California’s flavored tobacco sales ban accused of misleading voters."
OCTOBER 14, 2020