New Jersey Is Now Accepting Applications For Marijuana Consumption Lounge Licenses, With Social Equity Businesses At Front Of The Line

Applications have officially opened to operate a licensed marijuana consumption lounge in New Jersey.

Nearly a year after the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (NJ-CRC) finalized rules for the lounges, applications can now be submitted by qualified social equity businesses as of Thursday.

Applications from microbusinesses and diversely-owned dispensaries are set to open on April 2. Then all other retailers will get to apply starting July 2.

Under the rules, consumption lounges cannot sell food or alcohol, but adults 21 and older can bring food or have it delivered if the local government allows it. Medical cannabis patients would be able to bring their own marijuana products.

Businesses will be limited to owning one social use license, regardless of how many dispensaries they operate. There will be a $1,000 fee for microbusinesses to obtain a consumption area endorsement and a $5,000 fee for standard businesses.

Here’s what you need to know about the opening of applications for consumption area endorsements. pic.twitter.com/1jYcu2ulVY

— New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (@NewJerseyCRC) December 30, 2024

The commission first released proposed marijuana consumption lounge rules and opened a public comment period in January 2023 before voting to finalize them the following year.

NJ-CRC members have said they expect the addition of cannabis consumption areas will have a positive economic benefit for the state by generating more tax revenue from marijuana sales and annual fees.

Last month, in addition to releasing application forms for the new license type, NJ-CRC also approved a cannabis fee increase to support the state’s social equity program.

Also last month, regulators announced that New Jersey marijuana sales officially exceeded $1 billion for 2024.

Since the adult-use market launched in April 2022—and the number of licensed dispensaries surpassed 190—the state has seen more than $2 billion in cannabis sales.

Jeff Brown, the executive director of NJ-CRC, had predicted that the state would hit the $1 billion sales mark by the end of 2024 in an interview with Marijuana Moment last year.

Regulators have also stressed that they will not be letting the state’s medical cannabis system fall by the wayside even as they work to support the burgeoning recreational market. To that end, the commission eliminated the cost of obtaining a medical cannabis card.

Gov. Phil Murphy (D) has been a vocal supporter of the industry, and his office released a video in August of a tour he recently did at a marijuana business owned by a social equity licensee, who showed the top state official that he’s now growing a strain he was previously arrested with before being able to enter the legal marketplace.

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The state’s marijuana market has continued to evolve in other ways since shops opened. For example, state cannabis regulators started accepting public comment in late 2023 on proposed rules to expand the types of edible cannabis products that could be sold at licensed retailers, including beverages, chocolates, baked goods and jams.

Regulators have already waived certain requirements to authorize the sale of additional marijuana edible types.

NJ-CRC has also looked into adopting new rules that would create a permit to allow “clinically focused” cannabis dispensaries to enter into partnerships with research institutions to carry out cannabis studies using products that they grow or sell to patients.

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