John Schroyer
Consumption lounges are a niche business sector within the larger marijuana trade, but more states are embracing the possibility, including New Jersey, where a number of businesses are already in the works.
Although permitting is still in process at the state level, all lounges must be connected directly to a licensed retailer – but plenty of those have already been awarded licenses and are either operational or under construction, the Press of Atlantic City reported.
Consumption lounges are already planned in Atlantic City as well as in Elizabeth, Trenton, and Jersey City, the news site reported.
In Atlantic City specifically, the city designated a new “green zone” for cannabis companies to set up shop in and has not capped any license types. One city official told the news site he’d like to see a consumption lounge attached to every legal dispensary.
High Rollers Dispensary, in which investor Jon Cohn has an ownership stake, hopes to open a $3.5 million and 3,700-square-foot consumption lounge in a former hotel about a block from the boardwalk. The lounge could be open as soon as this summer or fall, Cohn told the Press of Atlantic City.
The dispensary obtained a conditional permit in September, Cohn said, and the next step is getting a final permit, which could arrive as soon as this month.
There remain caveats, however, including that the lounges will likely be prohibited from selling food or beverages, but if the consumption areas are connected directly to retail shops, the new model could prove profitable where older consumption lounge attempts in other states could never make work.
