Consumption lounges give cannabis consumers a place to relax and hang out without fear of breaking the law. These sanctuaries of smoke are the tell-tale sign that an adult-use state is ready to level up and take its cannabis culture to the next phase.
Communities across New Jersey have pushed back against consumption lounges, despite full-scale adult-use legalization. Only a small percentage of New Jersey towns opted into cannabis lounges while setting up their local ordinances for recreational cannabis sales. Some New Jersey communities that opted out believe they’re helping residents, but they’re actually providing a disservice to members of their communities. Cannabis consumption lounges in New Jersey provide a handful of communities the opportunity to unite in a safe space and connect while educating and dispelling the stigma of cannabis compared to alcohol.
New Jersey is the latest state to begin allowing consumers and patients access to a lounge to smoke, dab, and hang out as of July 2025. People often confuse cannabis cafes with consumption lounges—the only difference is that cafes make and serve non-infused food to customers on-site. Some consumption lounges are set up a little differently in each state.
Alaska became the first state to legalize cannabis consumption in lounges. It’s still illegal to consume cannabis in public in Alaska, despite cannabis itself being legal. Hence, lounges in the state are safe spaces for people to relax and enjoy themselves without fear of reprisal. Consumers must purchase all products at the dispensary before entering the lounge.
California municipalities continue opting into allowing for cannabis lounges, while Governor Newsom also signed a law into effect allowing for cannabis cafes as well. A variety of lounge types and vibes dot the landscapes of Northern, Central, and Southern California.
The consumption lounge model in Colorado is threefold. The first model is on-site hospitality lounges where food is served, and consumers bring their own weed (BYOC)—no sales of cannabis are permitted. The other is the retail hospitality and sales model, where you can only purchase from the attached dispensary before entering the lounge. The third model is a mobile cannabis model allowing for the consumption of cannabis in a licensed tour bus that visits various dispensaries and locations—weed on wheels!
The state of Illinois opened its first consumption lounge in 2021, allowing local governments in the state to dictate rules and regulations. Lounges in Illinois may be attached to dispensaries, but can also be part of a retail tobacco store, ie, a head shop. Retail and BYOC models are both available options, depending on specific municipal rules.
Maryland lounges operate in a little bit of a gray area—some lounges allow medical patients to smoke cannabis, while most others only allow for vaping and edible consumption. Maryland doesn’t permit BYOC, so consumers must purchase cannabis on-site. Cannabis cafes are also permitted under these rules.
Lawmakers in Massachusetts may finally vote on the framework for its consumption lounge model sometime before the end of 2025. The current proposal allows dispensaries to add lounges or cafes to their existing infrastructure, while also allowing BYOC in places like theaters and yoga studios with a licensed operator as the host. Pop-up event licenses are also proposed for approval by the state’s cannabis commission.
The first consumption lounge to open in Michigan began in 2022 with a BYOC and dispensary delivery model. Many different cities in Michigan have their own rules and models for lounges. Some future proposals combine retail, cafe, and music event spaces.
Municipalities in Minnesota review and approve lounge models on an individual basis. Minnesota only allows smoking outdoors, while consumers can vape or eat edibles indoors.
Missouri legalized adult-use cannabis, but hasn’t created a licensing framework for consumption lounges. However, that hasn’t stopped private lounges from operating on a “members’ only” basis. These private spaces don’t sell anything, so consuming requires BYOC.
Consumers must purchase all cannabis products at the same dispensary before consuming them on-site in Nevada lounges—there’s no BYOC. Lounges in destination locations such as Las Vegas offer lively atmospheres complete with immersive experiences.
New Mexico prohibits public cannabis consumption, leaving consumers two choices—blaze at home or hit up the consumption lounge. Different municipal permits exist for smoking and vaping lounges compared to other lounges that only offer edibles and cannabinoid-based beverages.
The state of New York is still in the process of rolling out the regulatory framework for its consumption lounges. There are no current licensed consumption lounges in New York; however, members-only and gifting lounges do exist in the gray area of the law.
The latest state to roll out cannabis consumption lounges to the public is the one and only Garden State. Some locations permit NJ medical marijuana patients to bring their state-labeled cannabis products to consume, while others mandate that consumable products must be purchased at the adjacent dispensary. There are currently four approved consumption lounges in the state. The Newark consumption lounge still hasn’t opened, while the two consumption lounges in Atlantic City certainly suit the casino and glitz vibe in that old-school seaside gambling spot.
The fourth consumption lounge sits in the southern New Jersey town of Merchantville—a suburban community like any other, but now with a community hub for cannabis consumers. Veriheal recently took a tour of the Gynsyng cannabis lounge—checking out the vibe while also getting the lowdown on how things work.
The first thing we noticed when we sat down and chatted with Tom Murzenski, Gynsyng’s VP of Operations, was the clean and comfy vibe that his team creates in their Merchantville-located consumption lounge.
“It’s kind of like your best friend’s finished basement”, said Murzenski as we both chillaxed on one of the many plush and comfy sofas filling out the lounge.
The vibe at Gynsyng is definitely more suited to a laid-back atmosphere compared to the sleek and gilded urban casino bar vibe found at other lounges in Atlantic City. Big-screen TVs, a variety of games—both video and board—and books—both educational and coloring—are scattered throughout, while the lounge also offers and rents premium water pipes and Volcano vapes. Anyone who’s ever wanted to try a dab or use a Volcano without forking over the loot for an expensive rig can hit up Gynsyng and give it a whirl. Gynsyng regularly hosts gaming competitions, smoke-and-stretch events, vendor promos, and other community-based education activities.
“We’re really into education, and having this space here allows us to open up products and show people what they look like, while also doing education events that actually involve consumption. People can just hang out and pass it around.”, Murzenski emphasized during our chat.
READ: The Easiest Way To Get a Medical Marijuana Card in New Jersey
Murzenski also confirmed that Gynsyng didn’t meet much municipal resistance to get started—the city council performed its proper due diligence to ensure safety. Merchantville was also never one of the many New Jersey towns that opted out of lounges once adult-use legalization arrived in 2022.
The city of Merchantville is a walking community—several weeks before our visit, the town had porch and garden tours where folks walked the community to explore a multitude of magnificent design and horticultural spaces. Merchantville is definitely not some wasteland going to the wayside by allowing a cannabis lounge in its vicinity—adding one actually enriches the offerings in an already nice place to live.
The city approved the lounge with a boost from the requirement of mandatory impairment tests before and after consumption. Consumers who drive and are seeking to enter the lounge must first take a quick series of digital tests on a tablet to establish individual baseline levels of potential impairment. They must score within a 5-point margin of error on the second exit test before being allowed to drive away and leave the lounge. All in all, the tests aren’t difficult and only take about 5 minutes in total each time.
“It’s basically hand-eye coordination, visual acuity, and being able to maintain balance”, Murzenski confirmed.
We entered Gynsyng’s main dispensary and picked up two premium prerolls to puff on while checking out the amenities of the lounge firsthand. A budtender administered the baseline impairment test in an area with some space several moments after the retail purchase. The tests are slightly overwhelming at first until you realize they’re essentially the same simple aptitude tests you took in grade school. The budtender establishes and stores a baseline score for future comparison. Now the fun part—hanging out in a real-deal consumption lounge!
Our visit was during some downtime in consumer activity, but according to Murzenski, Friday and Saturday nights are typically popping. “It’s a lively atmosphere on Friday and Saturday nights, with music on the jukebox and everything like that.”, he said.
The relaxed, comfortable vibe of the lounge is very conducive to relaxation. Ashtrays and lighters are everywhere as you switch from playing some foosball to doodling on any of the take-out menus of local restaurants that deliver food to the lounge.
A premium sound system lets consumers stream any tune for the festivities. We cued up the Rolling Stones’ “Street Fighting Man” but instead went with the “Pina Colada Song” in honor of the late great Chris Farley.
This lounge gives friends a great place to hang out and get silly in a most comfortable and safe environment. A state-of-the-art smoke filtration device ensures the atmosphere doesn’t get too smoky or stuffy inside as well.
Once the pre-rolls were toast and we had exhausted all of the activities and fun on hand in the lounge, it was time to exit. The same budtender re-administered the impairment tests, but this time while we were under the influence. We’re proud to say we passed with flying colors—figuratively—along with a couple extra yuk yuks while trying to maintain balance on each leg again. Gynsyng automatically bans any consumer who skips the exit impairment test, according to our knowledgeable budtender/impairment tester.
Bars serving a variety of potentially lethal alcoholic beverages often serve consumers to the point of major intoxication every day. Since no one has ever overdosed on weed before, the stigmas surrounding cannabis consumption lounges should be mild in comparison; however, they simply aren’t due to decades of demonization.
Some towns and cities across the country may not initially see the value in having a safe space for cannabis consumers to gather and imbibe. Lounges like Gynsyng have the important opportunity to change old mindsets in other places that may’ve initially been cautious—potentially further enriching those communities when the right time comes.
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