New Jersey’s first cannabis lounges, where customers go to light up legally

Inside the Gynsyng cannabis lounge, people are hanging out on comfortable couches and beanbag chairs. One group is around a table playing Settlers of Catan. Several others are waiting for the night’s big “Flow State” event. The bud tenders are busy at the counter filling orders, and the vibe is super chill.

Gynsyng is among the first of four cannabis lounges approved for New Jersey, and from all appearances, business is booming. 

A budtender, Mike “Sweets” Sweeten, explained the location’s success. “Generally we are a busy store; we do have our downtimes. I think the lounge definitely helps with bringing in the volume of customers,” said Sweeten. “Business has definitely picked up since we opened. It was a slow progress of building up, but I think we are pretty much where we need to be.” 

Nearly a dozen states have legalized lounges. The first four opened in New Jersey in August. In addition to Gynsyng, two other lounges are open in Atlantic City and one in Newark. The Cannabis Regulatory Commission approved a fifth lounge last month, and three more applications are in the initial stages of approval.

The lounges “are a natural next step” for the five-year-old cannabis industry in New Jersey, said Chris Riggs, the acting executive director of the Cannabis Regulatory Commission. “These spaces provide adults with a legal, controlled environment to consume cannabis.”

Interest in lounge licenses has been strong, according to Riggs, but the approval process varies and has several key steps, including sign-off from municipalities and a thorough background check by the commission. Winning approval can often take a while.

A cannabis consumption lounge has to be in the same facility as a dispensary, and products consumed must be purchased on-site, according to state law.

Blazin’ Buddiez, a dispensary in Bridgeton that was approved in March for a lounge that it aims to open in June.

“The reason we’re doing this is because we wanted to give the customers a place of peace and mind,” CEO Joshua Hannah said. “You know, everyone can’t just freely have a place to smoke…So we decided to get the consumption lounge going to get some extra revenue.”

Gynsyng – like most lounges – offers a variety of products, including “flower,” the traditional leafy smoking product, vape cartridges, and edible gummies or tablets. It also sells “concentrates,” a smokeable wax-like substance, and topicals, such as THC and CBD balms. Customers can also rent or buy smoking devices. 

Lounges also allow people to try out different methods for consuming cannabis, such as renting “Puffcos,”  that are used for smoking cannabis concentrates, and glass bongs, grinders, and metal rolling trays. Rolling papers and cones are available for purchase. Rolling papers allow smokers to create a joint, and cones are for those who may not want to go through all the trouble of rolling their own, or just don’t know how. Cones are essentially a paper and a filter wrapped together and ready to fill.

All are considered essentials for a modern cannabis smoking experience. The shop also holds events where various communities can come together. 

In addition to providing a venue for smoking or consuming marijuana, lounges can host social events. Gynsyng holds trivia nights, game tournaments, movie nights, and cat adoption events, in addition to afternoon and evening lounge hours. 

“It’s a never-ending battle of breaking that stigma to a certain extent,” said Payne Howard, assistant general manager. “If you can’t smoke in your place or anything like that, and if you just want to come here and just have a good time, you know, make some new friends, it’s definitely a good spot for it.” 

A March “Flow State” event was centered around rave culture. There was lively music playing, and consumers enjoying different aspects of the rave scene, such as dancing, juggling light-up batons, and spinning a “flow star,” a colorful star-shaped fabric that people gently toss or spin to create a rhythmic movement. 

Kevin Frank visits the lounge regularly and attends the “Flow State” event. “Very big community store, even before the lounge was open…from talking to people at my town’s pool, it is very big,” Frank said. “Surprisingly, there’s a senior home right behind here, too, and a lot of them come here, too…Tonight, there were people older than me that I didn’t think would know what rave culture is!”

Sweeten’s mother is also a Gynsyng regular. Eileen Sweeten explained that Gynsyng is the first place where she has felt comfortable consuming and purchasing, and she feels that the lounge’s presence has brought the community together. 

“I think it’s actually a great asset to the community, you go in, and you know all the people that are in there, and you get to know them on a first-name basis,” she said. “It’s really great. Like they have different events, and you’ll see somebody my age or older, sitting there with somebody that’s like, 22, just hanging out, having a good time. And it’s rare that you see that nowadays.” 

By law, food and drinks cannot be served at cannabis lounges, but Gynsyng has takeout menus from various restaurants within walking distance. 

Pronto Pizza, a family-owned business, is located just over a block away from the lounge and gets quite a bit of business from Gynsyng’s customers.  

“They pretty much come for slices every day. They have a very good crew, very respectful. We really get along, it’s a good thing,” said Steve Dobrova, the owner of Pronto Pizza, “We have a good respect, and I love it when they come in.” 

Several concerns come up when discussing the idea of cannabis lounges. 

Although it has a slight marijuana scent, the interior of Gynsyng is not a choking haze of smoke. 

“They don’t smell it on the street. We do have to have the same filtration systems as a cigar lounge. So when people are consuming in here, like even right now, you really can’t smell it,” said Sam Chapman, Gynsyng’s general manager. “When there’s active consumption here, even on the street, you can’t smell it. It’s all contained inside.” 

Safety is also a priority. Driving high comes with the same risks as driving drunk. Gynsyng, however, requires a before-and-after sobriety test through an app called “Druid.”

“It pretty much just tests your cognitive ability. And then we’ll test you on the way out as well. If you deviate within five points, the system tells us, you know, hey, you’re not really safe to drive yet. Let’s take a cool-down period,” Chapman said. 

Eileen Sweeten said, “I guess a lot of people, when they first opened, they questioned, ‘Why do I have to take a test?’ And when it’s explained the way I’ve always understood it, it’s like you can’t go out, and you could leave a bar and wrap yourself around a tree a block away, and they don’t do anything to stop you. But here at the lounge, they do. It’s like they actually care about their customers, if that makes sense.” 

To find a local New Jersey dispensary or cannabis lounge, visit the Cannabis Regulatory Commission website. 

This article was written by Katherine Burgos, courtesy of the NJ State House News Service