Cannabis cafes may become tourist draw in US city as lung experts cite 'toxic chemical' concerns

Amsterdam-style cannabis cafés are one step closer to opening in a major U.S. city — with others potentially watching closely. 

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted in mid-July to allow licensed cannabis retailers to serve food and nonalcoholic drinks on site — similar to cannabis cafés that exist in the Netherlands, as Fox 2 KTVU reported. 

Even as retailers anticipate pulling in more tourist traffic as a result of the development, lung experts cite health concerns connected to the move. 

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Under the new ordinance, cannabis may only be consumed on the premises and cannot be taken off-site. Alcohol and tobacco, meanwhile, are prohibited.

Operators must also obtain a Department of Public Health consumption permit alongside their Office of Cannabis permit, meet restaurant food safety standards and electronically verify every customer's age at the door.

The measure supports AB 1775, a 2024 state law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom that allows cities to issue licenses for cannabis cafés, as local outlet KQED reported. In a statement, Rafael Mandelman, board president, said San Francisco "just gave our legal cannabis industry a real tool to compete and grow," the outlet reported. 

He also cited the potential economic benefits of attracting more visitors.

Mayor Daniel Lurie, a Democrat, signed the legislation July 23. On August 23, the Office of Cannabis will begin accepting applications for cannabis café permits.

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The passage of the cannabis café legislation "marks a new initiative for the city’s economic recovery and for the broader cannabis community," said Nikesh Patel, director of the San Francisco Office of Cannabis.

Patel's office "is working closely with other city departments to implement this new permit type responsibly, while maintaining core services to enforce compliance across the industry," he told Fox News Digital.

Amy O'Gorman Jenkins, executive director of the California Cannabis Operators Association, told Fox News Digital she thinks other cities "can and should consider similar models," assuming San Francisco's experiment is a success.

"The purpose of authorizing cannabis cafés was to transform a brief retail transaction into a hospitality experience," she said.

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"Allowing this activity in San Francisco will attract visitors … and generate broader economic activity," she asserted.

O'Gorman Jenkins said cannabis cafés "are not simply dispensaries where people can stay longer."

O'Gorman Jenkins mentioned that AB 1775 has safeguards to protect employees from excessive secondhand smoke — but not everyone agrees. 

A representative from the American Lung Association told Fox News Digital the ordinance moves San Francisco "in the wrong direction" because of secondhand smoke.

"Permitting cannabis lounges normalizes [the] deleterious effects of smoking cannabis and exposes the adjacent properties to secondhand cannabis smoke, which contains many of the same toxic chemicals, carcinogens and fine particulate matter found in tobacco smoke," said Kesa Bruce, director of California Advocacy for the American Lung Association.

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"Employees working in cannabis cafés would be required to spend hours each day in an environment where they are repeatedly exposed to harmful airborne pollutants simply to do their jobs," Bruce contended.

"There’s a widespread belief that marijuana is ‘natural’ and therefore harmless," Corey Gamberg, a mental health and addiction specialist who serves as executive director of the Rockland Recovery Center and Massachusetts Center for Addiction, previously told Fox News Digital.

"In reality, today’s products are far more potent than in previous decades, and we’re seeing very real mental, emotional and physical consequences in clinical settings every day."

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Trent Carter, a board-certified nurse practitioner, addiction recovery expert and founder of Renew Health, an outpatient treatment center in New Mexico, also noted that marijuana has become a more commonly accepted substance — but he's seen some negative effects in his own patients.

"As time went on, I discovered that the vast majority used marijuana to treat a number of mental and physical issues, only to induce a litany of other symptoms as a result," he told Fox News Digital earlier this year.

The proposal sparked discussion on a San Francisco Reddit forum, where users expressed excitement.

"This is sooooo needed. Can’t wait," a commenter wrote.

"I'll be seeing you guys there in 10 years when the first café finally opens!" another joked.

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Others were skeptical about the plans.

"I hope this [will] limit some public weed smoking," one person said. "It’s such an anti-social behavior. Don’t like getting hit with other people’s big puffs out on the street."

Another person wrote, "It would be nice to have more social spaces, but the indoor smoke makes them pretty much un-attendable for more than a few minutes."

The proposal also comes as cannabis increasingly intersects with the travel industry.

Earlier this month, officials reminded Americans that bringing cannabis products across international borders remains illegal in many countries, warning travelers that even legal purchases made in the U.S. lead to steep fines or prison sentences abroad.

Melissa Rudy of Fox News Digital contributed reporting.