If anything, cannabis seems like a much better (and more profitable) drug around which to build a leisurely establishment.
For the ones complaining of smell, Ill take the weed perfume over vomit dipped alcoholics any day.
That’s already a reality in some places. San Francisco, New York, and Amsterdam are some examples.
Add Spain to the list.
Some medical dispensaries even had this vibe years ago.
If they replaced individual bars rather than expanded the space where drug consumption is the basis of socializing.
I don’t smoke weed, but phrasing it’s usage as “drug consumption” always annoyed me. It makes it sound like it’s the same thing as heroin or meth, which it’s not even close to the same thing.
It’s the same thing as alcohol.
From what I recall weed is considered less harmful and addictive than alcohol. Most recent study that caught my eye was from New Zealand. Alcohol was somewhere on the top along with heroin. THC somewhere in the middle ranks.
Sure, alcohol is pretty bad. But I’ve been disappointed when looking up places to hang out, so many of them are some kind of bar. I’m fine with people using drugs on their own time, but I’d like for there to also be places where people don’t.
It isn’t. And when people say “drugs” they’re almost never talking about alcohol anyway, unless the conversation is literally about the designation of what constitutes a drug and what doesn’t, which is convoluted as heck.
Depends on your circles I suppose. Drug is drug.
Yep. I can’t stand this “oh, weed is harnless” attitude a lot of people have towards cannabis. Its an intoxicant like any other, and should be treated as such.
The amount of friends I have who think that they’re fine to smoke and drive are too damn high.
Heroin, amphetamines, alcohol, and cannabis all have genuine medicinal uses, and also all can be abused depending on context. Drug consumption is a fine, value-neutral term, which can refer to both their use and abuse.
The war on drugs generation has had that reality tainted though mate. There are a lot of (mostly ultra conservative religious types) people who see drug use as the same whether it be meth or weed. And they don’t see beer the same way usually.
But in a very literal sense you’re absolutely correct. But we’re having a conversation about perception here.
people who see drug use as the same whether it be meth or weed.
But they are correct about this part, there is no ethical or moral difference between using amphetamines and using cannabis.
And they don’t see beer the same way usually.
Well, they’re incorrect about that part. But I’m not going to change the way I talk just because other people are wrong. Think about it: I’d never stop changing the way I talk.
But we’re having a conversation about perception here.
Absolutely.
I worked as a chemical dependency counselor for years with all types of addicts. To me, alcohol is scarier than all of them. Quitting drugs is never fun or easy, but alcohol withdrawal will kill you straight up. One cannot quit cold turkey. In my opinion, alcohol is the hardest drug yet invented, it just also happens to be more socially acceptable than the other ones. Challenging this perception is something I care about quite a bit.
The difference is you can’t taste other people’s alcohol but you can smell others’ smoke
Dry vaporizers (with temperature below 200C) don’t have smoke so are a lot less offensive with smell, if not odorless particularly with access to fresh air.
Also people smelling of alcohol, particularly if they are drunk or drinking liquor, is definitely a thing. Also barfing. I wouldn’t doubt bars having bad smells sometimes.
Yep that’s the 21st Century way to party. Smoking tastes almost disgusting after making the switch.
Bars could have bar-top vape systems and you could bring your own plant materials or buy there, but you would probably have to buy a disposable nozzle for the vape systems. Each patron could use a clean disposable tip for their visit to minimize germs.
Depending on the the vaporizer tech, I could see BYOB (and a bit of auto-cleaning) being a thing. Meaning bag, bowl, or…
Also personally I have my own mini-“pipe” that I carved, the balloon bag slots into it and it has a carb hole for air-mixing (also it can fit the direct draw/whip mouthpiece into it too, diff orientation). So it’s a personal mouthpiece.
Thanks for the shameless plug opportunity for m/dryherbvapes!
You can certainly smell other people’s alcohol. Most pubs reek of cheap beer
Some establishments yes, but in most places I would not smell alcohol unless someone spilled it all over the floor. It’s anyway much less compared to smoke that will stick to your clothes
Right but you can consume cannabis in tons of different ways - cookies, cocktails, etc. Restaurants had smoking areas for decades with far worse air filtration systems.
there are THC drinks where I live, always a nice option for me to have at gatherings as a non-alcohol person.
People who are going to a place to smoke typically wouldn’t mind that. Take cigar or vape lounges, for instance. Also it’s usually people who don’t smoke weed who act like the smell of weed bothers them.
right but my point is if a group of friends want to go to a bar and some people don’t smoke or like the smell of smoke then there is a problem, it’s not like they can just opt not to smell smoke
Then don’t go to a weed bar, I guess. Laws are unlikely to allow weed and alcohol in the same place any time soon… though that already happens illegally at concerts and many bars I’ve been to. But people at the bars usually smoke outside. Colorado gov’t acts like all hell would break loose if people smoke and drink at the same time.
…that’s why you would only go to a place like that if everyone is down. Having them for people that want to go is fine, no one is forced to go.
That sounds nice in theory, but in reality the result is usually that if the majority of a group smokes, the nonsmokers don’t have much of a choice except for looking for new friends. That was a very common complaint when smoking in pubs and restaurants was still legal here.
Just because one person doesn’t want to go to something doesn’t mean they shouldn’t exist. You’re basically saying one person’s opinion/choice outweighs an entire group. If those choices constantly put you at odds with the group it might be best to find a group that aligns with your values more. There’s also nothing wrong with being friends with the people that want to go to things you don’t like, just tag along when they do things you do like. You don’t have to have one set of friends, you can have multiple groups that like to do different things. I’m not pro banning things for the sake of others that can choose not to participate.
That line of arguing is exactly why it doesn’t work. And in general I agree that banning things because someone else doesn’t like it is wrong, getting rid of smoking wherever possible is better for everyone, including the smokers.
For what it’s worth, pretty much everyone here in Austria agrees that the ban on smoking in indoor establishments was a good thing. It’s just so much better to come home from a night out and not reek like smoke so badly that everything you touch will smell for days.
Well if low THC vapes and flower carts become common enough, we could see it become much more socially acceptable over time.
The problem is how to shift public perception of it as an anti-social behaviour towards a more acceptable vice that doesn’t necessarily have to affect others good time
and drunk people can be annoying and it is hard to opt out of being around them at the bar
Edibles might make it better. But then you’ll need to give people something to do for an hour or so before it kicks in…
You mean like eating, playing board games, and socializing?
More friendly environment w/dry vaporizers (bag, whip, or portable/extract) so there’s no smoke (and note the lack of lasting/scented steam clouds that people hate about flavored vape pens). Also edibles and the like… but that just time-delay dosed food.
I would say that drinking is a longer/more gradual experience so has more reason for a dedicated space. Though I guess the passable options that I mentioned could draw the experience out, but I’ve never done that so I’m not sure what that’s like compared to one-and-done/hanging-out-when-high.
(though as others have said, it is a thing)
I went to one in Thailand. Got to borrow a bong and play billiards and Uno and stuff, it was a real nice and comfortable little place
As others have said, they exist mostly as coffee shops. Honestly, with the prevalence and near ubiquity of Delta 8 across USA now, I would have thought someone would have put the effort into making coffee shops. I have no idea why they haven’t gotten around to it yet. I found one that was a coffee shop that had delta 8 for sale, but not as a single product and they wouldn’t let me eat it in store…
Bay Area guy here. We have quite a few cannabis lounges.
This is quite common in The Netherlands. They’re called coffeeshops.
They are usually not very cozy though since they are barely legal and they don’t want to get too much attention.
Some coffeeshops have men with purple hats standing in front, essentially advertising the place. Not to mention all the big signs saying this is a coffeshop, with customers sitting outside on benches and smoking weed in plain sight. It’s definitely possible to find coffeeshops with boardgames, although they are not very popular, since I guess most tourists aren’t into that, and most locals can just smoke and play boardgames at home.
Since I’m getting downvoted here: what I wrote is based on my experience in the Zuid Holland region. It might be different in other places of the Netherlands.
I don’t care about cannabis consumption in public but anything that produces smoke or vapor should be treated the same way as cigarettes. Second hand smoke exposure needs to be minimized.
I am also not sure they would be more profitable. Alcohol is dirt cheap to produce and bars charge insane amounts for it. A $10 bottle in the supermarket frequently goes for hundreds of dollars. A cannabis lounge might be more profitable right now because there is very little supply but I doubt you can have anywhere near the amount of bars or clubs.
I agree on smoke.
For vapor, note that many dangers that you have heard of are related to ecigs (liquid-based vape pens). The ones that are flavored+have nicotine and added adulterants (glycol/glycerol at least), and that use a conductive heating coil that may expose the user to heavy metals especially if they get too hot (though probably more of an issue for heavy daily use). Plus with the higher water content, breathing in the steam cloud may be a lung infection risk.
For a dry (herb) vaporizer set at a temperature under 200C (and convection-based), you don’t have those problems (2nd paragraph). I am not saying anyone should be near random people with this, but in a dedicated location it should be fine (especially with fresh/filtered air or an open space). You’re breathing significantly worse stuff being exposed to the ambient car exhaust to/from said location (also: gasoline vapor at gas stations).
There are more pot shops than bars where I live. Plants are pretty cheap to grow.
This is a great way to make a 30 minute game into a two hour game. Source: years and years of trying it.
I think it is completely unacceptable to have public places where people go to get intoxicated in a society that practically requires cars.
It should be required that your uber/lyft, or bus/train ticket is prepaid in order to receive any product in these establishments.
This sounds like a great idea in a city center where cars are banned.
I forget who this was, but some comedian pointed out the utter absurdity of bars with parking lots.
Designated drivers literally exist, though?
Speaking as a smoker: it’s a great idea until someone manages to start a fire (or deliberately sets one.) Also smoky interiors get uncleanably grimy FAST.
Your dealers home: Am I a joke to you?
That was the cool place 20+ years ago, not so much now.
Dealer? What’s a dealer? Is that something I’m too Canadian to understand?
It’s the guy with weed 30-40% less expensive than the guv’mint stores that also happens to be better quality 9/10 times.
(I kid to a point - I use dispensaries too, because what’s not to like about picking up weed AND milk on a mini-mall grocery run - but seriously the market value for unregulated weed has plummeted something fierce since legalization. And what I’ve tried is pretty damn good).
I do hope it becomes more socially acceptable to be high in places you can be drunk, but I think the smoking aspect is always going to be an obstacle.
