Press of Atlantic City – An Atlantic City man has hired an attorney to clarify whether registered medical marijuana users must be accommodated in casino smoking sections after he was told he could not take his prescription at Revel Casino Hotel.
Daniel Price, a 23-year-old medical marijuana card holder, said he was turned away from Revel and directed to the Boardwalk when he asked a security guard if he could use the substance in late April. A registered medical marijuana patient since February, Price is prescribed the drug to treat both seizures and irritable bowel disease.
“I asked the security guard. I did not state whether I’d smoke it, ingest it, what form of it I’d be using,” Price said. “I feel I should be accommodated.”
Northfield-based attorney Michelle Douglass is now representing Price in what she says could be a ground-breaking legal battle clarifying whether patients like Price must be accommodated by private businesses.
“Our position is … that they are required to provide people with disabilities an accommodation,” Douglass said. “It is legal. He is legally permitted to use medical marijuana.”
No formal legal action has been taken to date. Price hired Douglass to represent him following the incident. At the time, Revel security officers directed him to consult with the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement. The DGE then directed Price to Atlantic City’s Health and Human Services Department.
