Sonoma County marijuana users can now buy their blunt and smoke it too — all at the same place.

A Cotati cannabis lounge that is the first of its kind in this corner of the North Bay opened Thursday, allowing customers to purchase and legally consume cannabis products on site.

At 3 p.m., when the doors opened to the Mercy Wellness Lounge, Sydney Comora was first in line. A few minutes later, joint in hand, she was sitting in a cozy club chair watching a DJ spin reggae. Psychedelic images swirled and oozed on a giant screen.

Comora, smoke drifting around her head, relaxed into the moment.

“This is the best place ever,” she said. The Santa Rosa resident said she was celebrating her 30th birthday with her sister.

Mercy Wellness is the first Sonoma County cannabis retailer to take advantage of a 2024 state law allowing dispensary owners to prepare and serve hot food and nonalcoholic drinks on site, creating a more club-like atmosphere like those in Amsterdam.

Such venues may be a rare, new bright spot for California’s sagging marijuana industry, plagued in recent years by high tax burdens, expensive permits, strict regulation, and a still-thriving black market.

Mercy Wellness founder and CEO Brandon Levine sees his 9,500-square-foot lounge as a way to attract customers looking for an immersive, social experience.

“I feel like its always been a dream to create a place where it’s normalized to socially consume, he said. Levine opened the first Mercy Wellness medical marijuana dispensary in 2010, expanding to cultivation, manufacturing and distribution in Sonoma County, with dispensaries in Cotati and Santa Rosa.

The Vibe

With 10 chandeliers, Restoration Hardware-style chairs, velvet sofas, a stage and state-of-the-art sound system the space feels like a nightclub. Just without the alcohol.

That’s something that Comora said she’s been missing.

“I don’t drink alcohol, and this is a safe environment for me,” she said.

Levine, who also doesn’t drink, said that many people — sober or not — like the idea of a place where alcohol isn’t a focus.

During its “Early Access” soft launch, the lounge will be open Thursday through Saturday from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m., with expanded hours after the final phase of construction on a 6,000 square-foot patio.

Though cannabis smoking lounges have been around since 2018, the 2024 law — Assembly Bill 1775 — also enables businesses like Levine’s to host live events, including music shows and sports viewing parties and — a game changer, he said. Comedy shows are in the works, along with DJ’s and a lineup of food trucks and caterers including Galvan’s Eatery and War Pigs BBQ as they soft open.

The Road to Opening

Mahavir, 79, of Lake County happened upon the opening by accident. Sitting on a sofa with a joint, he said remembers the days before legalization and is excited to come to a lounge with music and cannabis.

“There was such a stigma in my era,” he said, noting that the air filtration system inside was going the extra mile for customers.

Bringing the project to life, however, wasn’t easy.

Although there are several cannabis lounges in San Francisco and Los Angeles, Levine had no road map for Sonoma County, educating themselves and local officials throughout the process. Both the state and the city of Cotati have oversight on the project.

“This is five-plus years in the making and there were a lot of unknowns. How do you put something together that doesn’t exist? So many things had to align,“ he said.

There are also concerns about potentially impaired drivers leaving the business. Staff have been trained similarly to bartenders, knowing how to address overconsumption. Staff and security officers monitor access, and guests are encouraged to use ride-sharing or public transportation rather than driving.

“We’ve been dedicated to normalizing cannabis and breaking down lingering stigmas, and launching the first licensed consumption lounge in the North Bay is a pivotal step in that journey,” said Levine.

The lounge is at the Gravenstein Business Center (7950 Redwood Drive), near the Mercy Wellness Dispensary and cannabis cultivation room. No one under 21 is permitted.

You can reach Dining Editor Heather Irwin at heather.irwin@pressdemocrat.com. Follow Heather on Instagram @biteclubeats.