Urb’n dispensary opened the first legal cannabis consumption lounge in North Jersey in Newark with a party by Glass Meadows /Rosin King of Jersey.
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The chill party vibe included people passing and smoking joints, which was really awesome. It encapsulated the beauty of weed helping to connect with strangers you otherwise wouldn’t get to know.
Glass Meadows organized the party under their Rosin King of Jersey brand. They brought a Nintendo for people to play great games like the newest Super Smash Brothers.
There were also several fun free arcade games to play at the party, like Ms. Pac-Man, Marvel vs. Capcom, and Mortal Kombat. They also head a giant Connect 4 game the corner.
Several influencers were on the scene for the private party like Jersey Plant Babe Educator Rita De Almeida, Preston of NJ Dispensary Review, and Vibes rolling paper brand ambassadors Big Headz Brandon and Eliza Rhodes.
The decorations near the old front door served as a background for pictures taken by photographer Justin of Lovin.Media.
Glass Meadows had a fun display of their gummies and joint boxes on their table along with cool decorations and a TV to play the Nintendo. Along with Rosin King of Jersey, they had banners displaying their Pre-Roll King of Jersey, Jersey Sauce Boss oil, and Jersey Jellies gummies product lines and brands.
Party in the Legal Urb’n Dispensary Cannabis Lounge
“Today we just wanted to see what everyone would do… everyone had a good time,” Urb’n CEO Dr. Ramez “Max” Maxemous explained.
The party included rap music and a big screen TV playing music videos. Urb’n took half of the store for the lounge. So tables and chairs have taken the place of some cases. Urb’n is also using a new door for the main entrance on the dispensary side.
The lounge part also includes a fun, smaller room, which is almost like the VIP section.
Max noted that the vibe of the place can change for events. He envisioned it being like a coffeehouse during the day.
Max also wanted to make it feel more like a nightclub on the weekend. So, he wants to stay open until 2 AM. Max wants to lobby Newark Mayor Ras Baraka to persuade him to change the rules. Right now, they close at 10 PM.
“The furniture will be changed up for different events,” he added.
Max said they plan to host a range of different events there. Some events could be game-watching parties. Others could include dimming the lights or an outdoor tent during warmer months for evening parties.
Since we were in a legal cannabis lounge, I decided to smoke my handy disposable cannabis vape pen from Jersey Smooth.
(They’re sponsoring our upcoming Women in NJ Cannabis live show and party on Saturday, March 14th!)
NJ Cannabis Pioneer Max Maxemous of Urb’n
Max is a local Egyptian American serial entrepreneur, primarily as a Pharmacy owner in Newark. He is also an underground legacy to legal social equity applicant.
Max runs a humble family business with a dedicated staff that is dealing with the many issues that arise when blazing a trail.
He noted to Heady NJ how long it has taken to get here.
“We were just nervous at first,” Max noted about opening the lounge. “We wanted to stop stressing about it and let it flow.”
He has been worried about the strength of the legal cannabis lounge business model. It includes the logistics of being a sort of lounge, theater, nightclub, and coffee house, which often includes event expenses like promotion.
In addition, you cannot sell food, drinks, or alcohol.
However, you probably could file paperwork for a food truck business, park it outside, and bring food inside.
It was unfortunate High Rollers was recently fined by the NJ Cannabis Regulatory Commission (NJ-CRC) for selling drinks.
Being a pioneer back in the day was hard too. A lot of people suffered and died building the colonies that would one day become the United States and creating generational wealth.
NJ Cannabis Lounges
Max had his lounge approval on display along with his annual adult-use and medical cannabis dispensary licenses on the wall.
Technically, it’s not its own license since you need to open a dispensary first. But like testing labs, it’s a sort of de facto license.
Gynsyng in Merchantville, across from Philadelphia, along with High Rollers and Sunnytien in Atlantic City, opened their legal cannabis consumption lounges last summer, July 2025, on the same weekend.
The Gynsyng dispensary lounge has a friend’s basement vibes going while the AC lounges are more like Boardwalk Empire-style nightclubs.
Urb’n won the right to open an NJ cannabis consumption lounge at the same NJ-CRC meeting.
Other dispensary owners are also trying to open dispensaries in North Jersey in the few towns that allow it, like Jersey City.
Overall, New Jersey is doing a very good job of pioneering legal cannabis consumption lounges. Older legal cannabis markets like Washington State, Michigan, and Massachusetts don’t have any legal cannabis lounges.
