\u201cThey don\u2019t drink, but they do consume cannabis. Maybe these are the new bars for the younger folks,\u201d said Peter Coletto, finance director with the city of Sacramento, who is helping shape the pilot program.<\/p>\n
How it could work<\/p>\n
The city\u2019s pilot program would set up two different types of lounges, those for \u201cnonsmoking consumption\u201d such as edible products, and lounges \u201call consumption,\u201d which would include smoking or vaping products.<\/p>\n
The pilot program already has set requirements for \u201codor-absorbing ventilation\u201d and ways to prevent odors from being detectable outdoors. The lounges would be capped at 1,500 square feet. The program also would allow customers to consume only cannabis that\u2019s purchased directly from the dispensary.<\/p>\n
City staff is set to put zoning laws before the council that will dictate which dispensaries can add a lounge onto their business and how close the lounges can be to \u201csensitive uses,\u201d such as churches, child care centers, parks and schools.<\/p>\n
New rules could open the industry to more areas<\/p>\n
The changes are also expected to broaden Sacramento\u2019s cannabis zoning laws substantially for the first time in years.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now we\u2019re largely confined to former industrial areas. \u2026 There\u2019s a big concentration in (City Council) District 2 and District 6,\u201d Coletto said. District 2 includes much of Del Paso Heights and North Sacramento, and the city\u2019s District 6 includes eastern parts of the city bounded by Highway 50 and Stockton Boulevard.<\/p>\n
Staff studied how the recreational cannabis industry has rolled out since 2018 and found that it may be ready to go beyond those industrial areas.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t see these negative impacts that were were worried about initially, so we can open up the zoning a little bit,\u201d Coletto said.<\/p>\n
All dispensaries eligible to apply<\/p>\n
All of the city\u2019s 43 dispensaries would be eligible to apply for the pilot program, according to city spokesperson Julie Hall.<\/p>\n
The number of dispensaries that have the space to add a lounge, plus the number of dispensaries that meet the zoning requirements, could slim that number down considerably though.<\/p>\n
Only five dispensaries said they had enough space to add a cannabis lounge, according to a city survey taken last year. Three dispensaries told the city that it would take between six and 36 months to build enough improvements on their sites to add a lounge.<\/p>\n
If the council approves the zoning changes and business fees later this month, it would allow dispensaries to start readying their applications, Coletto said.<\/p>\n
Who will be first in line?<\/p>\n
The city is planning on using a \u201cfirst-in-line\u201d process to judge applications based on when they are time stamped and if they have the adequate materials in their application, such as security measures and licensing.<\/p>\n
Dispensaries would also have to receive a conditional use permit from the city\u2019s planning department and approval from the city\u2019s cannabis office. Lounges likely would not be open until \u201clate fall at the earliest,\u201d Hall said.<\/p>\n
One dispensary confident of success<\/p>\n
One Midtown Sacramento dispensary already has its sights on being among the first cohort of new cannabis lounges. <\/p>\n
Crystal Nugs was cofounded by a group of Sacramento-based family friends initially as a delivery business. The company now operates a dispensary from its bright green building at 23rd and J streets, which became the city\u2019s first Black-owned dispensary in 2023.<\/p>\n
![\"Historic](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/DSC08806-1024x576.jpg.webp.webp\")
The Delta Boyz dispensary in Isleton became the first dispensary in Sacramento County to allow on-site consumption in 2022. (Felicia Alvarez)<\/p>\n