It’s been a cannabis conundrum since legal weed first came about in the U.S. more than a decade ago: If weed is legal, where can consumers (especially those who might be tourists or temporarily visiting a legal recreational state) go to smoke it if they aren’t in a private residence?
While some states have enjoyed legal adult-use cannabis for years and still have yet to crack the code, it appears that New Jersey, one of the newer states in the recreational cannabis game, is moving forward and approving its proposed ruleset for cannabis consumption lounges, according to New Jersey Monitor.
Voters in the state overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment to legalize cannabis in 2020, which enabled Governor Phil Murphy to officially sign three bills into law in February 2021, decriminalizing cannabis and effectively paving the way for legal cannabis. New Jersey cannabis sales began in April 2022.
New Jersey’s Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) approved the proposed rules at its monthly meeting on Friday, December 2. The rules would allow any cannabis retailer to have indoor or outdoor enclosed consumption lounges, applying the same age requirement as purchasing—21 and up with a photo ID.
New Jersey consumption lounges will need to be approved by the CRC directly, along with local authorities. Lounge employees will need to provide safe environments to people to consume cannabis and would be prohibited from “overselling” to customers as well. No tobacco or alcohol would be permitted, and no food could be sold on-site, though outdoor snacks and food would be allowed.
While recreational cannabis has been legalized in 21 states and Washington, D.C., New Jersey would join just six other states allowing on-site consumption, should the proposal gain final approval. Though it’s looking good so far, as the measure passed with unanimous support.
“I truly believe that this rule proposal, like everything else we’ve tried to do, adequately balances both equity and safety and will open up new opportunities for businesses and consumers,” said Jeff Brown, the cannabis commission’s executive director.
Looking at the potential setup for legal cannabis markets, legislators have often mirrored the alcohol industry. Though it’s been a consistent challenge to enact sweeping changes across legal-cannabis states allowing for cannabis consumption in select public areas.
Most legislation across the country in legal-cannabis states, including the laws in New Jersey, does not allow for smoking or vaping cannabis in public places. While consumers can partake in private residences, many landlords don’t allow smoking on residential property. For out-of-towners, the same rules often apply to AirBnB’s and hotels.
It prompts the question, how do we approach a legal cannabis market if consumers might not even have the space to lawfully consume it?
Commissioner Maria Del Cid-Kosso said that consumption lounges provide a “safe space for consumers and patients.”
“It’s definitely another stride for the commission, so I’m really excited that we were able to put this together in a timely manner,” she told New Jersey Monitor.
Up next, the commission will hold a 60-day public comment period for the proposed rules. The commission will ultimately approve any consumption areas, though individual municipalities also have a say—New Jersey state law allows municipalities to pass local ordinance banning public cannabis consumption.
Application fees would be $1,000 for all businesses, and microbusinesses would see a $1,000 licensing fee compared to the standard licensing fee for other businesses at $5,000, according to Brown.
In the same meeting, the CRC approved 113 conditional license applications, six conditional-to-annual conversion applications and eight annual applications. According to the meeting agenda, there have been 392 cultivation applications, 225 manufacturing applications and 810 retail applications for adult-use cannabis as of November 15.
