The Marijuana Herald – Marijuana news and information
The American Cancer Society (ACS) is calling on California Governor Gavin Newsom to veto legislation that would legalize marijuana cafés, despite a lack of scientific evidence linking secondhand marijuana smoke to increased cancer risks.
Late last month, California’s Legislature approved Assembly Bill 1775 , sending it to Governor Newsom. The proposed law would “authorize a local jurisdiction, if specified conditions are met, to allow for the preparation or sale of noncannabis food or beverage products, as specified, by a licensed retailer or microbusiness in the area where the consumption of cannabis is allowed, and to allow, and to sell tickets for, live musical or other performances on the premises of a licensed retailer or microbusiness in the area where the consumption of cannabis is allowed.”
In a press release sent this week, the ACS says “Cancer advocates across the state urge Gov. Gavin Newsom to veto the bill because it violates Proposition 64, which explicitly states that smoking marijuana is prohibited wherever smoking tobacco is prohibited. This bill would also undermine the state’s smoke-free restaurants law and compromise its enforcement, thus threatening to roll back decades of hard-won protections of everyone’s right to breathe clean, smoke-free air.”
Jim Knox, California managing director for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), said “Nearly thirty years ago, California boldly forged the path to protect everyone from the dangers of secondhand smoke when it became the first state in the nation to prohibit smoking in almost every indoor public space. As Americans are now using marijuana at higher rates than cigarettes and alcohol, California has the opportunity to reaffirm its role as a champion for public health. To do so, it must build upon smoke-free policies, not weaken them.”