Left out of the initial wave of recreational cannabis, this casino town by the ocean has established a “Green Zone,” to attract cannabis business to its under-performing business district. It passed a planning board, the state’s Casino Reinvestment Development Authority and, Wednesday night, the full City Council.
Here’s what to know:
It’s basically the entire inner core of the city
The zone includes Atlantic Avenue and Pacific Avenue from Boston to Maryland Avenue, plus the Orange Loop District, an area of bars, restaurants and music that runs from Tennessee and New York Avenue from Pacific to 200 feet from the Boardwalk.
The area along Atlantic and Pacific Avenues was once a thriving business district in Atlantic City with department stores and shops, but more recently, its restaurants and shops have had to co-exist with illegal drug sales, people who are homeless, and those with addictions.
Recent police crackdowns have yielded numerous arrests for illegal drug sales and weapons offenses along stretches of this area, and one of the plan’s goals is to “reduce the underground marketplace,” for cannabis.