Roll Up, Cannabis Cafes May Be Coming To Massachusetts and Maine

When I was in Amsterdam, I saw many cafes where individuals are able to partake in socially smoking marijuana. Well, if you're looking to attend one of these cafes, you may not have to travel too far. It seems that we may see some marijuana cafes pop up in New England.

Back in 2016, Massachusetts and Maine residents voted for and approved the legalization of cannabis and in 2018, Massachusetts allowed licensed recreational sales. The idea of social consumption has kind of been frowned upon, but it looks like that may be changing.

According to Patch, the state of Massachusetts is getting closer to having legal marijuana social consumption sites, otherwise known as cannabis cafes. Back in April, the MA Senate passed a cannabis reform bill, that would allow social consumption to occur. A three-year pilot program of licensed cannabis cafes in multiple communities across the Bay State would occur if the House of Representatives passes this reform and sign it into law.

Patch states that some of the communities that are applying for cannabis cafes are Provincetown, Amherst, Somerville, North Adams, and Springfield. However, the issue is that there is no way (currently) that law enforcement doesn't have any way of testing drivers after they attend one of the potential cafes. According to Patch, the Cannabis Control Commission said that the state of Massachusetts is currently working on creating a separate commission to try to resolve that issue.

Cannabis cafes are not new to the states, as there are some in California, Illinois, and Colorado, according to Patch. The next states that are trying to get social consumption approved are Massachusetts and Maine.