As state after state legalizes weed, the number of cannabis users coming out of the proverbial closet also continues to grow. As it does, so do the ways that food and cannabis can be incorporated, from imbibing and then enjoying a good meal to having said meal infused with cannabis in every morsel.
It sounds like a dream come true for lovers of edibles and good food, but it’s a legal gray area that no one has really delved into as of yet. There are private chefs who will whip up the best five-star cannabis-laced meal you could dream of in legal states, but the brick and mortar restaurants have yet to emerge. Their eventual existence seems inevitable, though, especially with the nation’s green wave happening.
At the National Restaurant Association Show earlier this year, speakers went into how the legal landscape hasn’t been thoroughly explored as of yet, and that where cannabis is consumed in public settings still had to be worked out. This could mean that cannarestaurants are still a little while away, but it also means that people are already thinking in that direction.
In Colorado, local jurisdictions decide whether a person can toke in public or enjoy an edible outside their homes. Because of this, the first cannabis cafe has sprung up in Denver called The Coffee Joint. Even at this concept cafe, they provide non-laced snacks and beverages and offer papers, water pipes and vaporizers, but it’s still BYOC.
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Once regulations are set in place and marijuana is more and more normalized, cannabis restaurants seem like the obvious next big thing. It’s a targeted audience for sure, but one that makes up over half the nation. It doesn’t hurt that it’s unquestionably a very cool concept. French food with creamy, infused butter, all American diners with cannashakes and sandwiches. The innovations are endless…
One thing that’s going to certainly be discussed first is how people are to get to and from these high minded restaurants. It’s all well and good to have an easily accessible downtown location, but then what about those on the fringes of town? Will car services and food delivery services get a boost in the process? Will there be an increase in designated drivers for weed consumption? We can only wait with mouths watering as legislation is passed and chefs get ready to cook up cannabis for the masses.
