Have you ever dreamed about lounging around smoking cannabis with friends in a cannabis lounge? Not in the social setting of your living room, kitchen, den, or backyard, but at a place away from home. Alcohol is legal, and they have bars and clubs for people to go where they can drink until they can’t stand anymore. It doesn’t work that way for legal cannabis, though. Or does it? You might not find clubs full of high-energy dance music when it comes to a social cannabis setting, but cannabis lounges are a thing. Not only are they a thing, but they are also a pretty damn cool thing.
A cannabis lounge sets an atmosphere for people to come and congregate while consuming cannabis. It provides them a safe environment to socialize with friends. It also gives people a place to make friends, a place to medicate, and a place to learn about medicating. After all, who doesn’t want to go to a place where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came? A cannabis lounge can be a little bit different from place to place.
Some places have cannabis lounges that are kind of secretive. They called them private clubs. They require memberships and have locked doors that you must know codes to get in or have keys for. These are not open to the general public. You have to know somebody to get in. Then there are cannabis lounges in places open for medical patients. Individuals who have medical cannabis cards can present these at lounge locations and enjoy medicating and relaxing inside of the lounge.
I was in a cannabis lounge in Colorado a few years back, and it was really cool. They served beer in there, and it looked a lot like a bar. The only difference was instead of sneaking out back to smoke a joint or bowl; people could fire up inside. They had a special area for cannabis concentrates, but you could pretty much smoke anywhere. There were pool tables, a jukebox, and pretty people serving cold drinks and snacks. The environment was filled with laughter and smiles.
With cannabis being legal in so many places, you would think that cannabis lounges would be legal in just as many places, but that is incorrect. Don’t feel bad for thinking that; I’m right there with you. I failed to see how alcohol is legal, and you can pretty much find a bar to get drunk in every neighborhood across the country, yet when it comes to these venues, there are only seven states in America that have the proper legislation allowing for them. These states are New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, California, Colorado, New Jersey, and Nevada.
Each place has slightly different rules, and regulations such as cannabis consumption lounges can only be opened by licensed medical dispensaries, or they can allow cannabis consumption but are not allowed to serve alcohol, or they are basically just a recreational area where you are required to BYOB AKA bring your own bag. In New York, you will find cannabis lounges that do not serve alcohol but offer a club-like environment. In Pennsylvania, you BYOB AKA, bring your own bag of weed to one location and present a valid medical cannabis card, and you’re in. In Illinois, you can consume cannabis in the lounge and also score smoking accessories. California and Colorado offer lounges with BYOB service, and Nevada is moving forward with lounges that will also offer cannabis products for sale.
As more support for cannabis legalization on the federal level surfaces from company’s like Amazon, the more likely the American people will be to see the MORE Act passed swiftly. Cannabis lounges should be viewed no differently than a bar or a club. Wait, I take that back. Cannabis lounges should be viewed differently because they are an alcohol and drug-free place where people go to work on personal harm reduction. Cannabis lounges should be viewed as better. They don’t facilitate alcohol which is a leading cause behind domestic violence. What cannabis lounges do facilitate is social engagement, healing, and the munchies. It also provides traveling cannabis consumers a legal place to partake, something not available in many states.
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