With an eye toward neighborliness, New Jersey plans to ban the use of marijuana in large multifamily homes, high-density apartment buildings and public housing.

So to make it more accessible, the bill proposes allowing marijuana dispensaries to set up sections of their business, separate from the retail area, where customers could take what they bought and enjoy it.

“We think that this should be treated equivalently to alcohol in many respects and allowing for safe and regulated public consumption is just one aspect of that,” said Morgan Fox, a spokesman for the National Cannabis Industry Association.

The bill also would allow casinos in Atlantic City, and other hotels in the state to designate up to 20 percent of their space and rooms for guests to use marijuana.

Who started it: The first state to propose consumption areas was Alaska, which is still debating the idea even though it has legalized marijuana. For now, Nevada is the only state that permits cannabis lounges statewide. Some counties and cities in California and Colorado have also begun allowing similar operations.

Promoting “micro-businesses”

What this means: A way to encourage mom-and-pop shops.

The fine print: Cannabis is a multibillion dollar industry in the United States and several large corporations are eagerly anticipating the opening of the New Jersey retail market, especially because it is so close to New York City and Philadelphia.

But to promote small businesses, the bill mandates that 25 percent of licenses be given to shops that have no more than 10 workers in a space smaller than 2,500 square feet and that process less than 1,000 pounds of cannabis every month.