A New Jersey lawmakers has proposed making recreational marijuana use legal in Atlantic City to help the resort attract new visitors.
Democratic Assemblyman Reed Gusciora said he plans to introduce a bill to let voters decide. It’s called the Promoting Opportunities for Tomorrow, or POT, bill, according to the Associated Press.
The bill calls for a public referendum on the idea that would permit the commercial growth, sale, possession, consumption, and taxation of marijuana within the boundaries of Atlantic City by those 21 and older. Taxes would be 20 percent of the marijuana’s market price. Revenue would be shared by Atlantic City and the state.
Gusciora wrote in the bill that criminalization of marijuana “is archaic and has had a disparate, harmful impact on minority communities” throughout New Jersey, including Atlantic City.
“A well-designed and heavily regulated marijuana industry would move Atlantic City’s economy into the 21st century and provide extreme economic benefits to a new generation of Atlantic City residents and business interests, including existing hotels and casinos,” he wrote.
However, city officials aren’t embracing the idea.
“Though we appreciate the Assemblyman’s efforts to create additional revenue streams for Atlantic City, I can’t support promoting drug use,” Atlantic City Council president Marty Small told the AP.
Under the bill, marijuana in Atlantic City would be regulated by the state Department of Law and Public Safety. Half the tax money collected would be deposited in Atlantic City’s general fund; 30 percent would fund state transportation projects; 10 percent would be deposited into an anti-drug law enforcement fund; and 10 percent would go to women’s health, family planning, and similar programs, according to an analysis by the AP.
In another Atlantic City note, the resort’s City Council again postponed a vote on an ordinance to allow open containers of alcoholic beverages on the city’s Boardwalk. The plan is to allow the sale of beverages in specialty cups on the boardwalk, similar to laws such as on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.
However, the bill was pulled after the state Division of Alcohol and Beverage Control contacted the city that it wants to review whether the ordinance is consistent with state regulations.
The delay makes it doubtful that the bill could be adopted during the summer season.
