Cannabis lounges may move forward in Santa Cruz County

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. (KION-TV) -- Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors voted on a motion that will potentially welcome cannabis lounges in Santa Cruz County.

The option voted on would only allow cannabis lounges to be within existing cannabis retailers or adjacent buildings. Despite an option chosen, this is not a vote for a final ordinance.

Supervisor Manu Koenig added an amendment to the motion which would ask for feedback from health agencies in the creation of a cannabis lounge ordinance once.

"The reality is that laws can't stop people from making bad decisions. What we can do is create a framework that does the least harm, that reduces the negative outcomes as much as possible population wide," Koenig said.

At the meeting proper, Santa Cruz Public Health spoke on the health impacts cannabis lounges could have on the community with three concerns for the community. Those ranged from lounges potentially normalizing cannabis use for the youth, secondhand smoke, and the impacts to drivers leaving cannabis lounges.

"The more protective we can be in terms of cannabis-related policy, our youth are more protected," Public Health division director Emily Chung said.

The option was chosen after a 3-2 vote with Supervisors Kimberly De Serpa and Monica Martinez voting against the motion. The next step will be to develop a final ordinance.