An Atlantic City man has hired a legal representative to seek clarification on Revel Casino & Hotel’s failure to accommodate his need to bring medicinal marijuana inside the casino. According to the Press of Atlantic City, 23-year-old Donald Price is a registered medical marijuana patient who uses the drug to treat his seizures and irritable bowel disease.
But during a recent trip to Revel, Price was told by a security guard that he couldn’t use marijuana inside the casino. The snub prompted Price to hire lawyer Michelle Douglass to seek clarification on the casino’s stance on medical pot.
No lawsuits have been filed yet, but Price is considering taking that road if Revel continues its stance of forbidding him to enter the casino with the substances. On behalf of her client, Douglass contends that a private business like Revel is required by law to “provide people with disabilities an accommodation.”
The issue has already gone through numerous channels, including the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement and Atlantic City’s Health and Human Services Department. But with no clear decision coming from either agency, Douglass is looking at taking the issue to the New Jersey Superior Court. Legal documents have already been filed seeking clarification on how state laws are interpreted, specifically on places where medical pot can be used.
According to guidelines issued by the state on the use of legally prescribed marijuana, patients are encouraged to use the substance only at home but are allowed to bring the drug with them at times deemed absolutely necessary. No explicit prohibition forbids patients from using marijuana inside a private business that, like Revel, allows smoking in designated areas.
According to state Department of Health spokeswoman Dawn Thomas, private businesses have the authority to impose policies that address the use of medical marijuana inside their establishments. Division of Gaming Enforcement spokeswoman Kerry Langan echoed those sentiments, confirming that the division has already talked to the casinos to create their own policies in an attempt to “avoid confusion as well as customer inconvenience and dissatisfaction.”
Still, Price and Douglass are keen on hearing what the Superior Court has to say on the issue.
