Cannabis lounge planned for Atlantic City Hotel

Visitors to Atlantic City could enjoy the convenience of a cannabis dispensary and consumption lounge just off the famous Boardwalk once plans for one of the city’s historic hotels are considered this summer. If approved by regulators, the proposal would add a lounge allowing on-site consumption of cannabis products to a marijuana retail outlet already planned for the Claridge Hotel, a 1920s former casino just steps from the Boardwalk removed.

New Jersey state regulators are in the process of developing the rules for cannabis lounges where visitors can legally smoke, vape, or otherwise consume cannabis in a public setting. Eventual approval of the proposed regulations is eagerly awaited by the state’s burgeoning cannabis industry, with entrepreneurs such as Raekwon of the famed Wu Tang clan already announcing plans to open weed lounges.

Pharmacy 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 section of the Claridge Hotel, which is just off the boardwalk between Park Place and Indiana Avenue. Jon Cohn, an owner of the company, 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 that would add a new entrance to the building on Pacific Avenue near Indiana Avenue.

The proposed pharmacy will occupy most of an area that was once an art gallery and is now used primarily for weddings, cocktail parties and other events. The hotel plans to keep part of the space for its popular wedding business. In addition to the new entrance, the pharmacy and lounge will also be accessible through the Claridge’s lobby, except when the hotel is hosting on-site weddings.

The high-roller portion of the space, including a 3,700-square-foot baccarat room on the second floor, will be converted into a cannabis dispensary and consumption lounge. Plans for the consumption lounge include a soft drinks bar to comply with New Jersey’s proposed regulations for businesses not allowing the sale of alcohol or food in consumption lounges. Other potential amenities for the location, which could open as early as this summer, include live entertainment and opportunities for outside food vendors.

High Rollers has also been granted a license for a cannabis cultivation facility on a vacant lot in Atlantic City on Martin Luther King Boulevard near Arctic Avenue. The Company expects to create more than 200 jobs to operate the Company, with approximately 175 positions required for the cultivation facility and approximately 35 employees to operate the cannabis dispensary and cultivation lounge.

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

Atlantic City has a green zone for weeds

New Jersey legalized recreational marijuana in 2021, and the state now has 21 dispensaries offering consumers cannabis for adult use. Last year, Atlantic City established a “green zone” to attract cannabis companies to the city’s embattled downtown. 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 that extends from Tennessee Avenue and New York Avenue to Pacific Avenue extends up to 200 feet from the Boardwalk. Permitted uses of cannabis within the zone include cultivation, manufacture, wholesale, distribution, retail and delivery.

However, the Atlantic City Boardwalk itself has restrictions on 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.