Jersey Shore town looks to legal weed sales for beach replenishment funding
January 20, 2026
Jersey Shore town looks to legal weed sales for beach replenishment funding
Upper Township is looking for a new pot of money to help pay for the constant need for beach replenishment.
Upper Township is considering allowing a legal weed store to raise tax money for beach repairs. NBC10’s Ted Greenberg has the story.
Upper Township in Cape May County is taking steps to green light its first-ever cannabis dispensary in order to pay for repairs to its battered beaches.
The proposed store would set up shop on Roosevelt Boulevard east of the Garden State Parkway, which would place it on a busy route to the town’s Strathmere section along the beach.
WATCH HERE“We’re not going to stop it from coming into our community, so we might as well embrace it and tax it and use it to our advantage,” said Upper Township Mayor Curtis Corson, Jr.
The town’s plan would use 33% of the tax revenue from the cannabis store for a special beach replenishment fund, while the rest will be dedicated for recreation and general expenses.
“We determined that that is the best zone due to the propensity of traffic, maybe some tourism traffic that goes there,” said Upper Township Administrator James Van Zlike.
However, some folks in Ocean City are concerned about the store’s impact on their notoriously dry town, since Roosevelt Boulevard is also a main roadway to get there as well.
“It won’t be restricted to Upper Township,” said Mary Louise, of Ocean City. “They won’t be just smoking it over there. They’ll be doing it here., and it’s not pretty.”
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In a statement to NBC10, Ocean City’s mayor said the town respects neighboring communities’ decisions, but he maintains that allowing cannabis businesses in Ocean City is inconsistent with the values that have defined it for generations.
“It’s already there. Not going to make a difference,” said Corson.
Zlike also said the town needs the money. Just last week, Upper Township joined other Jersey Shore towns in a trip to D.C., where they made a plea for federal beach protection dollars.
“This is a proactive measure to generate revenue that we can protect earmark in allocate to future beach replenishment,” Zlike said. “Those costs are astronomical.”
A second and final vote on the cannabis store is set for February, but officials said it would take at least six months before a dispensary gets up and running.
TRACK
A SECOND AND FINAL VOTE ON THE CANNABIS PLAN IS SET FOR NEXT MONTH. OFFICIALS SAY IT WOULD LIKELY BE AT LEAST SIX MONTHS BEFORE A DISPENSARY IS UP AND ROLLING. TED GREENBERG, NBC10 NEWS.
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