The Sacramento, Calif. City Council has cleared a path for cannabis consumption lounges in the capital of the country’s biggest individual cannabis market.
Meanwhile, would-be consumption lounge operators in Massachusetts are still waiting for final changes that would allow the first to open.
Sacramento lawmakers voted Tuesday to approve a five-year pilot program allowing on-site consumption loungers at licensed cannabis retailers, according to KCRA.
The program offers two license types:
- Type 1 lounges cover nonsmoking products such as edibles and infused beverages, with a permit fee of $7,238.
- Type 2 lounges allow all consumption, including smoking and vaping in specially ventilated spaces, with a fee of $9,651.
City leaders framed the five-year window as a test run before deciding to make lounges permanent.
Applications are expected to open next month.
What are cannabis operators saying?
For operators who have pushed for the change for years, the vote landed as a milestone that fills a gap.
“We’re not allowed to smoke in parks, we’re not allowed to smoke on the street, we’re not allowed to smoke in apartments,” Mindy Galloway of The Pocket Dispensary told KCRA.
Lounges, she said, give consumers a legal place to partake.
But not everyone was celebrating.
Kimberly Cargile, owner of licensed cannabis retailer A Therapeutic Alternative, told KCRA the permit costs could shut out smaller operators.
“The fees are extremely high, and it is definitely a barrier to entry for small businesses and social equity businesses, women-owned businesses,” she told the station.
What’s the status of cannabis consumption lounges in Massachusetts?
While Sacramento is pushing ahead with consumption lounges, progress toward opening the first lounge in Massachusetts has crawled.
The state’s Cannabis Control Commission approved social consumption regulations in December 2025. But six months later, almost no municipalities have passed the zoning changes needed to host lounges, and the commission has yet to open license applications, according to The Boston Globe.
Cities and towns must opt in through a local ordinance, bylaw or vote before applicants can even apply.
The CCC’s Social Consumption Regulatory Implementation Project, launched in January, still has four working groups stuck in planning – drafting templates, mapping licensing steps and building municipal opt-in infrastructure, according to a news release issued Tuesday.
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Meanwhile, entrepreneurs across the state are hemorrhaging money. Many have invested tens of thousands of dollars in rent and renovations for venues they cannot legally open, according to the Globe.
Caroline Pineau, owner of retail shop Stem, started a $2 million renovation to convert the top floor of her dispensary into a cannabis lounge.
“Every single day that we miss out on opening our doors to social consumption it is a detriment to our business,” Pineau told the Globe.
