Atlantic City celebrates first recreational marijuana shop opening on 4/20
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (CBS) -- Atlantic City is taking a new gamble and they think pot is the answer. City officials say selling recreational marijuana could bring AC to a new level of prominence.
An epicenter for all things cannabis on the east coast. And it's all being celebrated Thursday on 4/20, the unofficial national holiday for smoking marijuana.
"It's a long time coming and I think all states should be this way," Nelson Cuesta said.
One year after New Jersey legalized marijuana, Atlantic City is celebrating the opening of its first recreational pot dispensary on New York Avenue. About a block from the iconic boardwalk.
"I love Bally's, I love the casinos, so I'm glad they're finally opening up something that's really, really close," Aaliyah Trapp said. "And I'll be able to smoke."
"I took off from work this week just to be here, so it's party time," Crenshaw said.
Across from the city's third annual 4/20 festival, a line of people waited patiently outside MPX NJ.
The dispensary officially opened its doors Thursday morning offering legal marijuana products and the city says if it plays its cards right, AC could be the east coast hub for cannabis.
"We just want to make sure that when you come here and you buy your cannabis you get an experience," Kashawn Kash McKinley said. "We don't want you to just buy it and leave, we want you to experience AC."
There's still no smoking on the beach or boardwalk and AC has created a specific Green Zone where marijuana shops can open.
According to a new CBS poll, it shows a slight majority of Americans now consider using marijuana openly to be socially acceptable.
"Aside from the medical benefits of cannabis then you have the ability to enjoy it," Cuesta said. "It's way better than any recreational thing you can do right now."
"Our goal is to make sure we show the world everything we have to offer and cannabis is just one more chip off the old block to make people come down here and enjoy themselves," McKinley said.
MPX NJ is now open for both medical and recreational marijuana sales for adults.
The mayor says the city will also benefit from the tax revenue, which will support different programs and organizations in the city.
