Atlantic City has more marijuana shops than casinos, but justice is still a crap shoot

Atlantic City, long synonymous with casinos and gambling, has found a new player in its economy: marijuana dispensaries.

With at least 25 cannabis shops compared to nine casinos, the city is leaning into New Jersey’s legal marijuana market.

While the cannabis boom is reshaping the city’s economy and diversifying its tourism offerings, critics argue that the benefits of legalization are unevenly distributed, leaving some communities behind.

Since New Jersey voters legalized recreational cannabis in 2020, Atlantic City has fully embraced the industry, allowing a wide range of cannabis businesses to operate.

The city requires both local and state approval for licenses, with additional oversight for businesses in the Tourism District by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA).

This streamlined approach has made Atlantic City a hotspot for cannabis entrepreneurs​.

The rapid growth of legal marijuana dispensaries is primarily driven by multi-state operators (MSOs) such as Curaleaf and Ascend Wellness, whose significant financial resources and lobbying power give them a competitive edge.

These corporations have seized the lion’s share of the market, leaving smaller entrepreneurs struggling to compete. Many potential small-business owners cite high licensing fees and strict regulations as insurmountable barriers​.

For communities disproportionately impacted by decades of marijuana prohibition, the legalization wave has been bittersweet.

While some equity programs aim to prioritize applications from these groups, critics say such efforts are insufficient, and corporate interests continue to dominate the market.

This dynamic has led to a perception that legalization is benefiting wealthy investors far more than those harmed by the war on drugs​.

The rise of legal dispensaries has also disrupted the underground market, displacing street-level dealers who once supplied cannabis in unregulated environments.

Legal cannabis offers safer products and the convenience of legality, but profits now flow to large corporations, rather than staying within local communities.

This shift has exacerbated wealth inequality, with critics calling it a transfer of wealth from poorer communities to the richest one percent​.

While Atlantic City’s cannabis boom signals economic growth, the benefits of legalization remain a gamble for many.

Advocates for equity are pushing for reforms, such as lower barriers to entry and reinvestment in impacted communities, to ensure that legalization delivers on its promises of justice and opportunity.

For now, the dice are still rolling, and whether cannabis legalization leads to greater equity or deeper disparities remains uncertain—a gamble as quintessentially Atlantic City as the Boardwalk itself.