Is Cannabis-Friendly California Primed for “Pharm” to Table Success?

Now that recreational cannabis is legal in California, chefs and restaurant owners are seeing green … in both their recipes and coffers. Could the Golden State become the capital of gourmet “high” cuisine?  While it may be easier legally to serve dishes with CBD (cannabis sans the psychoactive properties), some California chefs and entrepreneurs still run into challenges turning pot into profit.

According to a story on NPR, “California chefs interested in creating Michelin-worthy pot restaurants have been hampered, for example, by regulations forbidding customers from buying and consuming cannabis in the same place.(There are a few exceptions.) But this year, West Hollywood is granting a few new licenses for cannabis consumption areas that might transform the city into a destination for upscale cannabis tourists. Imagine a high-end West Coast Amsterdam, says Vanessa Lavorato.”

“West Hollywood is saying you can do restaurants. You can do a spa. You can have a café,” she says. “It’s really going to be exciting to see who gets the licenses and what they do with these licenses.”

Listen to the full report here.