Regulation
San Francisco Releases Draft Rules for Cannabis Cafes With Live Music and Food
The city is accepting public comment through September 25 on proposed permits and operational requirements for on-site cannabis consumption spaces.
San Francisco officials have published draft regulations for cannabis cafes, following a California law that allows marijuana retailers to serve non-cannabis food and non-alcoholic drinks and host live events in on-site consumption areas. The proposal requires new permits and sets rules on operations, security, medical patient access, and business naming.
San Francisco's Office of Cannabis posted proposed regulations on Friday for how cannabis cafes will operate in the city, opening a public comment period that runs through September 25. The draft rules follow a local ordinance approved in July by the Board of Supervisors and mayor to let marijuana dispensaries serve food and drinks inside their on-site consumption areas.
The proposal would require a business to obtain a new Cannabis Café Permit as well as a Cannabis Consumption Permit. Businesses would need written procedures designed to discourage customers from removing cannabis products intended for on-site consumption from the designated consumption area or the overall premises.
The draft rules also cover operations plans, employee training, security, deliveries, inventory control, and access for medical cannabis patients. Dispensaries would need to maintain accommodations for medical patients, which may include providing an area where they can communicate confidentially with employees and maintaining an adequate supply of medical marijuana products.
The proposal includes restrictions on cannabis cafe names that would be likely to mislead the public into believing cannabis products may legally be sold to people under 21 or that would entice minors to attempt to patronize the businesses. City officials separately released proposed rule changes to incorporate cannabis cafes into the existing Good Neighbor Policy for marijuana businesses.
The local effort follows California's AB 1775, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in late 2024, which allows marijuana businesses to offer non-cannabis food and non-alcoholic beverages and host live events such as concerts in on-site cannabis consumption areas if they receive local government permission. The law took effect last January, but local officials have taken months to begin enacting their own ordinances.
Written comments on the proposed cannabis cafe rules can be sent by email to [email protected] or via mail or in person to Office of Cannabis; 49 South Van Ness; Suite 660; San Francisco, CA 94103.