A medical marijuana dispensary slated to open just blocks from a competitor on the Atlantic City Boardwalk can move forward despite attempts to block it, a court has ruled.
On Thursday, a state appellate court denied a motion filed by Compassionate Care Foundation to stay the licensing process of MPX NJ, which plans to open soon and become a competing neighbor of Compassionate Care.
Compassionate Care has argued that putting two dispensaries so close together does not further the goals of the medical marijuana program, which include expanding access to patients. Patients in South Jersey counties such as Cape May, Burlington, Gloucester and Salem, where there are no dispensaries, will still see long commutes to use the two Atlantic City dispensaries.
Compassionate Care opened its Egg Harbor Township dispensary in 2013, becoming one of the first in the state. The company then opened a new satellite dispensary last month on the Atlantic City Boardwalk.
That came just weeks after the state Department of Health gave another dispensary, MPX NJ, the green light to start growing marijuana in nearby Pleasantville.