Bill Maher joins Whoopi Goldberg and Woody Harrelson in calling on Governor Newsom to legalize cannabis cafes

SAN FRANCISCO - Comedian and political commentator Bill Maher called on Governor Gavin Newsom to sign into law Assemblymember Matt Haney’s bill, AB 1775, which would allow licensed cannabis retailers to diversify their businesses to boost California’s legal cannabis industry.

“It makes no sense that we don’t let cannabis lounges sell food. Right now, California makes it harder to get high at a lounge and eat a sandwich than to drive a car, but guess which one is more dangerous?” said Maher, host of HBO’s Real Time. “Governor Newsom needs to show that California supports small legal businesses by signing this bill.

Mr. Maher co-owns The Woods WeHo, a cannabis consumption lounge, along with actor and cannabis activist Woody Harrelson. A longtime advocate for the regulated legalization of cannabis, Maher has supported initiatives to protect cannabis consumers, pardon people convicted of marijuana offenses, and support the legal cannabis industry.

In a press conference at The Woods on September 6, Assemblymember Haney addressed the State’s restrictions on cannabis lounges that his bill would lift.

“There are cannabis lounges that exist all over the state, and right now, they’re being prohibited in an arbitrary, misguided way from being able to serve any food or non-alcoholic beverages,” said Assemblymember Haney. “And because of that, they’re prohibited from diversifying their business.”

A previous version of the bill, AB 374, was vetoed last year by Governor Newsom, who urged in his veto message to reintroduce the bill to include more protections for cannabis workers. This year, Assemblymember Haney reintroduced the bill with the support of the United Commercial and Food Workers to ensure cannabis lounge workers are protected from secondhand smoke impacts at work.

“Lots of people want to enjoy legal cannabis in the company of others,” said Haney, Chair of the Select Committee on Downtown Recovery. “And many people want to do that while sipping coffee, eating a scone, or listening to music. There’s absolutely no good reason from an economic, health or safety standpoint that the state should make that illegal. If an authorized cannabis retail store wants to also sell a cup of coffee and a sandwich, we should allow cities to make that possible and stop holding back these small businesses.”

AB 1775 received bipartisan support in both houses of the Legislature, and now sits on the Governor’s desk awaiting a signature.

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