New Jersey Opens Call for Consumption Lounge Licenses
New Jersey regulators have initiated the application process for getting a cannabis consumption lounge license. Social equity business applicants will be able to take advantage of the call and apply first, before the call is extended for all other applicants throughout the spring and summer of 2025.
Cannabis consumption lounges are assuredly taking over the country. As the new lifeline for the cannabis sector, the first legal lounges opened in California and Nevada, and they are now coming to the East Coast.
The New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (NJ-CRC) finalized the rules for cannabis lounges last year, and applications can now be submitted by qualified social equity businesses, with a deadline until April 2, 2025. All other applicants will be able to submit applications starting July 2.
What Are the Rules for New Jersey Cannabis Consumption Lounges?
Marijuana lounges would not be allowed to sell food or alcoholic beverages, however, adults 21 and above can bring food or have it delivered on the spot if the local jurisdiction permits it. Medical cannabis patients visiting the lounges will be able to bring their own herbal medicines for personal use.
Lounge licensees will be allowed to operate only one single lounge venue, in spite of how many dispensaries they run. Cannabis consumption lounges can be set either indoors or outdoors. Owners will also need to settle two different fees: $1,000 for microbusinesses to obtain a consumption area endorsement, and a $5,000 fee for standard businesses. Each license would need to be reconsent on an annual basis, according to the rules.
NJ-CRC has been preparing the rules and regulations on lounges over the last two years, which also included a period of public comments.
The regulatory commission said at the time that it “expects the new cannabis consumption area rules to have a beneficial social impact by advancing social equity, while allowing persons 21 years of age and older another venue to safely enjoy the personal use of cannabis.”
Lounges are expected to bring additional profits to the cannabis sector in the Garden State. Tax revenue will increase from marijuana sales and annual fees.
Introducing marijuana consumption lounges on the New Jersey cannabis scene will also mark another milestone for the state green industry, which as of December 2024 surpassed $2 billion in retail sales since market launch in April 2022.
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Stephen Andrews
