Visitors to Atlantic City could have the convenience of a cannabis dispensary and consumption lounge located just off the famed Boardwalk as soon as this summer under plans being considered for one of the city’s vintage hotels. If approved by regulators, the proposal would add a lounge permitting on-site consumption of cannabis products to a retail marijuana dispensary already planned for the Claridge Hotel, a 1920s-era former casino only steps from the Boardwalk.

New Jersey state regulators are currently in the process of developing the rules to govern cannabis lounges where patrons can legally smoke, vape, or otherwise consume cannabis in a public setting. The eventual approval of the proposed regulations is highly anticipated by the state’s nascent cannabis industry, with entrepreneurs including Raekwon of Wu-Tang Clan fame already announcing plans to open weed lounges.

Dispensary and Lounge Approved by Local Regulators

In Atlantic City, the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority last week approved plans to open the High Rollers Dispensary in the former casino area of the Claridge Hotel, which is located just off the Boardwalk between Park Place and Indiana Avenue. Jon Cohn, an owner of the business, told local media that High Rollers is close to finalizing a lease for the Claridge. The plans include a $3.2 million renovation of the property, which would add a new entrance to the building on Pacific Avenue near Indiana Avenue. 

The planned dispensary will occupy most of an area that was once an art gallery and is now mostly used for weddings, cocktail parties, and other events. The hotel plans to retain a portion of the space for its popular wedding business. In addition to the new entrance, the dispensary and lounge will also be accessible through the Claridge’s lobby, except when the hotel is hosting weddings at the site.

The High Rollers portion of the space, including a 3,700-square-foot baccarat room on the second floor, will be remodeled into a cannabis dispensary and consumption lounge. Plans for the consumption lounge include a bar for nonalcoholic beverages to comply with New Jersey’s proposed regulations for the businesses, which do not permit alcohol or food to be sold in consumption lounges. Other possible amenities for the site, which could be open as soon as this summer, include live entertainment and opportunities for outside food vendors. 

High Rollers has also been awarded a license for a cannabis cultivation facility on a vacant property in Atlantic City on Martin Luther King Boulevard near Arctic Avenue. The company expects to create more than 200 jobs to operate the enterprise, with about 175 positions needed for the cultivation facility and a staff of about 35 to run the cannabis dispensary and cultivation lounge.

“We feel it’s a good fit for the city as a whole, to utilize cannabis for tourism,” said Cohn. “You can’t be on the Boardwalk, but it’s relatively close.”

Atlantic City Has Weed ‘Green Zone’

New Jersey legalized recreational marijuana in 2021, and the state now has 21 dispensaries offering adult-use cannabis to consumers. Last year, Atlantic City established a “green zone” to attract cannabis businesses to the city’s struggling downtown area. The zone includes Atlantic Avenue and Pacific Avenue from Boston Avenue to Maryland Avenue, as well as the Orange Loop District, an area of bars, restaurants, and live entertainment stretching from Tennessee Avenue and New York Avenue from Pacific Avenue to 200 feet from the Boardwalk. Permitted cannabis uses within the zone will include cultivation, manufacturing, wholesaling, distribution, retail, and delivery. 

The Atlantic City Boardwalk itself, however, has restrictions against cannabis businesses. The restrictions do not apply to the Claridge Hotel, which is separated from the Boardwalk by Brighton Park and the city’s Korean War Memorial. Atlantic City also has two medical marijuana dispensaries, The Botanist and MPX NJ.

The post Cannabis Lounge Planned for Atlantic City Hotel appeared first on High Times.

The post Cannabis Lounge Planned for Atlantic City Hotel appeared first on Paradise Found.

Atlantic City, New Jersey could return to its original glory as a tourist destination with the boom of the Green Rush and the cannabis business events that follow. A city once dominated by the gambling industry is now facing its unknown future, and local experts think cannabis business-to-business events could solve that problem.

The familiar “glitter and sleaze” of Atlantic City’s boardwalk is known to locals, but the city has been on the decline for decades. Donald Trump’s Taj Mahal casino and hotel closed for good on October 10, 2016, and things haven’t gotten any easier for the gambling industry since then. Revel Casino Hotel followed, closing doors and being sold as well.

Things seemed to get worse in 2019, and despite an upturn in casino industry revenue in 2021, mostly due to a tax break, the city is still miles away from where it used to be. In addition, Atlantic City Tropicana’s workers are picketing for better pay and to unionize as the casino’s future remains uncertain. 

However, the economic effects of the rollout of the cannabis market could be the answer to the city’s long-term financial woes. During the first month of adult-use cannabis sales in New Jersey, the state brought home $24 million in tax revenue.

Skift Meetings, focused on event professionals, released a recent report about the true potential Atlantic City offers for the Green Rush—putting more than a bandaid on the city’s economic fallout.

The most obvious comparison is the boom of business events in Las Vegas, such as MJBizCon or CHAMPS Trade Show, drawing tens of thousands of tourists looking for networking opportunities and more. Atlantic City is home to 17,029 hotel rooms—a high ratio of rooms compared to other cities of its size as it is designed for tourism. Atlantic City could house large-scale events of the same nature.

Stu Zakim, president of Bridge Strategic Communications and a member of the Marijuana Business Association said “[Atlantic City] can be a wildly successful destination to host cannabis conventions,” Zakim told Skift Meetings.

Several others agreed that the new cannabis market in New Jersey is especially ideal for a city like Atlantic City. That’s especially true for cannabis conventions that need large facilities.

“The legalization of cannabis in the State of New Jersey opened a new vertical market for meetings and conventions in Atlantic City. We see cannabis as a growing industry, and it will have a significant increase on the overall economic impact of the destination,” said Meet AC’s President and CEO, Larry Sieg. Meet AC focuses on convention development in Atlantic City.

And the idea is nothing new. Then-Democratic Assemblyman Reed Gusciora—who is now Mayor of Trenton—called for Atlantic City’s enormous potential for the cannabis boom in 2016.

Atlantic City reached its peak long ago in the 1930s as a “wet city,” and since then, has succumbed to rapid decline, and casinos are failing. Its population nosedived to half the size when the city was booming.

The 3rd Annual New Jersey Cannabis Convention (NECANN) is being held September 9-10 at the Atlantic City Convention Center.

The potential has been building up for over a year. On February 22, 2021 New Jersey became the fourteenth state to legalize adult-use cannabis.

“The cannabis market in Atlantic City specifically is huge, untapped, and brimming with potential,” NECANN writes. “With only one major cannabis dispensary in the city. We are beyond excited to see the potential of Atlantic City’s cannabis community become a reality. NECANN prides itself on bringing personalized cannabis expos to fit the local communities and their needs.”

Check local listings for more events which are sure to follow.

The post Cannabis Events Just Might Save Atlantic City appeared first on High Times.

The post Cannabis Events Just Might Save Atlantic City appeared first on Paradise Found.