Starting next week, federal prison inmates from Alaska facing an average conviction of a decade behind bars for drug offenses will be released early. The sentence reductions resulted from revisions by an independent judicial body; its new policy could mean shorter imprisonment for tens of thousands of inmates nationwide. The U.S. Sentencing Commission lowered the penalties for all future federal drug defendants in April 2014. Several months later, the commission granted those reductions to drug offenders already in prison, but its decision to retroactively apply the changes stipulated that no drug offender could be released until a year after the changes came into effect on Nov. 1, 2014. [continues 808 words]
The Marijuana Control Board is in the final stages of crafting regulations that will guide Alaska's forthcoming legal marijuana industry. Proponents of Ballot Measure 2 believe the vast majority of rules proposed so far realize both its spirit and intent. However, we are concerned that a few remaining provisions overlook important rights for Alaskans granted under the initiative. By far the most troubling is the fact that the proposed rules do not allow for social consumption in any establishments. Measure 2 was designed to end marijuana prohibition and replace it with a system in which marijuana is treated similarly to alcohol. It grants many important rights for adults and localities. When we drafted Ballot Measure 2, we also made it a point to protect the rights of responsible business owners who wish to provide a location where adults can consume marijuana with other adults. Those who choose to consume marijuana should have the same right to congregate as those who choose to use alcohol. By allowing adults to consume marijuana legally inside businesses, we reduce the likelihood that they'll consume illegally outside in vehicles, on sidewalks and in parks. This is especially true when it comes to visitors who often don't have other legal options. [continues 472 words]
Spice-related medical emergencies spiked again Monday in Anchorage, with the fire department saying it might have made the most transports in one day since Spice emergencies increased this summer. On Tuesday morning, Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz announced that his administration would be introducing an ordinance that would make the sale and use of Spice a crime and impose penalties far steeper than what is currently on the books. Erich Scheunemann, assistant chief of emergency medical service operations, said records show around 30 people were taken to hospitals Monday for suspected use of Spice, "tentatively ... the most pickups since mid-July," he wrote. [continues 484 words]
Fears that heroin, meth, Spice and other drugs are flooding into rural Alaska has prompted local efforts to staunch the trafficking, and dominated discussions at the Alaska Federation of Natives convention that wrapped after three days on Saturday. The drug abuse has reached "epidemic" levels in the Dillingham region and elsewhere, officials said, but they added that there are no solid numbers on use. "It's all anecdotal," said Ralph Andersen, chief executive of the Bristol Bay Native Association. "But we see people who are messed up. In villages it's easy to know when people are normal and when they're not." [continues 382 words]
Alaska's Tax Division is in an unusual predicament as the state prepares to receive millions of dollars in marijuana tax money: it's not sure what to do with all that cash. The problem? Alaska's marijuana businesses are barred from opening bank accounts. That means the money the state collects -- estimated at $5.1 million to $19.2 million for next year -- may be flowing into the state Revenue Department's Tax Division in briefcases and bags. The scenario is not ideal for the division, which says increased security risks and a lack of manpower are reasons it doesn't want to be physically handling all the money. [continues 706 words]
A man who says he suffers from severe Tourette's syndrome told an Anchorage District Court Judge on Friday that three people charged with delivering and possessing marijuana were his caretakers. All three canna-business owners showed up at the Nesbett Courthouse, but two of the hearings were vacated. Alaska Cannabis Club owner Charlo Greene's case inched forward; attorneys discussed bail conditions and the possibility of moving her charges to a higher court. Related: Drug charges filed against Alaska canna-business owners Anchorage police arrest marijuana delivery driver in sting operation [continues 704 words]
PALMER -- Palmer residents apparently voted to ban commercial marijuana operations, according to early municipal election results, despite residents having voted in favor of legalizing pot when the issue came to a statewide vote last fall. The other big race in Tuesday's elections here, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough mayor, was too close to call even as a dramatic night ended with results from Talkeetna delayed by a mechanical glitch and hand-delivered by municipal clerks -- and more than 2,000 outstanding ballots yet to be counted. [continues 683 words]
I think I have discovered proof that use of marijuana affects brain function, as follows: A. State officials warned loudly and often that dealing in marijuana is not yet legal and will not be tolerated until regulatory safeguards are approved and in place. B. At least three pot-peddling businesses were raided and officially directed to cease operations. C. Last week, three pot-peddling businesses were again raided and the owners charged with pot sales. Most people know that if you keep doing what you've always done, you'll keep getting what you always got. Might it be that not recognizing this would indicate some diminution of cognitive ability? - - Don Neal Anchorage [end]
On a warm and sunny Wednesday afternoon in downtown Anchorage, two men leaned against the outside wall of Bean's Cafe. Their eyes were closed, mouths open, arms hanging limp. Their heads and torsos swayed side to side as employees gathered nearby. An ambulance was on the way. "Once I see their eyes roll back in their heads, I always call 911," said Andre Boyd, a monitor at the nonprofit, who on Wednesday made the call that brought medics to the agency within minutes. The two men had smoked the synthetic drug Spice, Boyd said. [continues 1175 words]
Lets be fair, Lets put a moratorium on the selling of alcohol until we can sell marijuana. Fair is fair. - -- Sharon Webb Anchorage [end]
If Alaskans want legal marijuana social clubs, they'll have to ask the Legislature. That was the Marijuana Control Board's message Thursday as it accepted proposed regulations that would specifically prohibit the clubs unless a license type is created by lawmakers. The vote was taken during the board's two-day meeting in Anchorage this week as the clock ticks down to Nov. 24, the day by which all of Alaska's marijuana regulations must be complete. The decision was met with dismay by Theresa Collins, owner of Pot Luck Events in Anchorage, whose social club has been operating since March. Her club is one of several around the state that have opened following Alaska's vote to legalize recreational marijuana use in November 2014. [continues 631 words]
It is hard for me to comprehend that we live in a state where it will soon be legal to cultivate commercial marijuana, but it is still against the law to grow industrial hemp, one of the world's most versatile and useful crops. Last session I introduced Senate Bill 8 to change that. The bill moved out of the Senate Resources Committee last session, but has yet to be heard in Judiciary. Although the main issue we will be focusing on in the upcoming session is how to deal with the fiscal crisis at hand, it is critical we pass SB 8 before the 29th Legislature comes to an end. [continues 515 words]
When selling and manufacturing marijuana is legal in Anchorage, where will pot cultivation facilities and marijuana retail shops appear? What type of advertising will be allowed? When will the businesses open and close? These are the types of questions now confronting Anchorage city officials, five months before the state of Alaska will receive the first license applications for marijuana businesses. For months, officials have been examining rules in other cities, particularly in Colorado, and drafting regulations. Now, Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz has formed an internal group to work through what the administration sees as the six biggest issues, according to City Attorney Bill Falsey. [continues 1508 words]
A few weeks ago, we considered whether cannabis concentrates would eventually become available to retail consumers in Alaska. But a reader identified some uncharted ground in that conversation. "Lady Marmalade" asks: In discussing the possible future of concentrates, you didn't discuss the limit of less than 76 percent THC in the proposed regulations. What would that mean for dabs? Don't they use concentrates in making edibles? Does that mean that edibles would be lower quality? What would 76 percent mean to that process? [continues 1365 words]
Struggling with the prospect of handling millions of dollars in cash from commercial marijuana businesses, Alaska's Department of Revenue is holding three brainstorming sessions to get ideas for how to handle the influx of taxes in an industry shut off from basic banking practices. "It's an uncharted territory. ... We don't have any precedent to go off of, really," said Claire Lettow, regulations specialist for the state Tax Division. Since marijuana remains illegal federally, Alaska's financial institutions so far aren't opening their doors to commercial businesses. That means, like other states that have legalized recreational marijuana, businesses will be dealing in cash. Potentially a lot of cash. [continues 784 words]
Alaska cannabis businesses can sell you a hoodie, so long as the transaction is being recorded in high-definition. The Alaska Marijuana Control Board covered allowable advertising strategies or retail dispensaries, as well as security protocol last week, on the second day of an extra meeting to consider draft regulations. Board Director Cynthia Franklin argued Montana's greatest mistake was allowing too much advertising for medical marijuana. Montana legalized medicinal marijuana in 2004 only to have a ballot initiative introduced in 2014 to recriminalize it. This followed a ballooning industry that roused the ire of the state legislators and a 36 percent minority of the population who hadn't supported legal medicinal marijuana in the first place. [continues 976 words]
Shawn, a chef (and expert punster), wonders whether Alaska cannabis regulators have considered his industry as they're setting the initial boundaries of the legal market. "I would like to know how they plan to address edibles and establishments that sell them. Are they going to allow a restaurant or dinner club that is an adult atmosphere like a bar, 21 and over, to serve cannabis-infused foods? I'm a chef and I think that we should have opportunity to stake our claim in this 'budding' marijuana industry." [continues 803 words]
That's what was on the campaign signs said and that's what Alaskans voted for. The Anchorage Assembly is not respecting the voters' will with it's "open container" requirement that marijuana be carried outside the passenger compartment (in the trunk). Alcohol can be carried inside a car as long as the seal is not broken. This law assures that alcohol is not being used by the driver. Thus the term "open container." Open containers must be carried in the trunk or in a locked glove box. Too bad there isn't a way to tell if marijuana is being used by the driver. Oh wait, there is! Unburnt marijuana is marijuana that is not currently being used. The open container law should define burnt marijuana as an "open container" and treat it like alcohol. Burnt and unburnt marijuana have strong and vastly different smells making this an easy ordinance to enforce. An unlit joint or bag of weed should be treated like an unopened bottle. [continues 190 words]
"AKEngineer" is hoping for clarity on a source of confusion he or she discovered in close readings of the proposed regulations that will eventually shape Alaska's legal cannabis industry: The ballot initiative specifically made it legal to give up to an ounce of marijuana to someone over 21. The proposed new regulations (appear to contradict the law and) make it illegal to give any amount "to a consumer" without purchasing a $5,000 license and going through a bureaucratic mess. Do regulations trump the law passed by the citizens? Or, if I give a friend a joint, is he/she not a "consumer"? [continues 657 words]
WASILLA -- Residents in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough cities of Palmer and Houston will get to vote in October on whether they want to make commercial cannabis operations illegal. Alaskans approved Ballot Measure 2 last fall to legalize recreational marijuana use. Commercial operations will become legal statewide in May 2016, when permits for marijuana businesses are expected to be granted. The overall vote in Mat-Su, widely viewed as Alaska's most productive marijuana-growing region, was narrowly against legalization. But voters in Palmer and Houston, as well as other unincorporated communities, actually favored it. [continues 369 words]
Marijuana industry advocates are crying foul about a residency clause in Alaska's draft marijuana regulations that would require all business owners and investors to be Alaska residents. With the deadline for crafting Alaska marijuana regulations just three months away, the Marijuana Control Board must decide whether the requirement -- which board member Brandon Emmett said "basically crushes the American dream" -- is the best choice for a fledgling market teeming with risk. Current draft rules read like this: Anyone who wants a marijuana business license, whether an individual, partnership, limited liability company or corporation, must be an Alaska resident. That includes every corporate shareholder and partner. Only a licensee may have a "direct or indirect financial interest," and all licensees must be Alaska residents. [continues 1017 words]
Anchorage Assembly Extends Open-Container Laws to Pot Anchorage drivers will soon be required to keep marijuana in the trunk of their cars, with the city Assembly voting Tuesday night to expand local alcohol beverage open-container laws to include marijuana. The new open-container restrictions were among a set of marijuana-related ordinances unanimously adopted by the Assembly Tuesday night. The others covered the use of a fake ID or other fraudulent means to buy marijuana; the inclusion of marijuana in existing laws that prohibit minors from driving under the influence; and the further definition and restriction of the personal cultivation of marijuana. [continues 590 words]
As Alaska's Marijuana Control Board continues accepting written comments on the legal system that is taking shape, Tristan wonders, "Will people with criminal records be allowed to participate in the cannabis industry?" So far, the answer is yes, but that depends on what we mean by "participate," and what kind of criminal record we're talking about. With the passage of House Bill 123 last session, which among other things created the MCB, the Alaska Legislature added a new paragraph to the initiative-created Alaska Statute 17.38.100, one that restricts people convicted of a felony within the past five years from being involved in a registered cannabis-related business. [continues 867 words]
On Friday afternoon, a crowd gathered around a man struggling to sit upright outside Bean's Cafe in downtown Anchorage. Emergency responders, employees and clients of the soup kitchen circled around the man as he swayed unsteadily on a bench. It was the second medical call related to the synthetic drug Spice at Bean's Cafe that day, client services supervisor Tracy Saakvitne said as she watched the scene unfold. A few minutes later, an ambulance arrived. The man was led away, his body limp and his head rocked forward. Two responders flanked him, one on either side, and held him upright. [continues 1218 words]
In the Aug. 9 Alaska Dispatch News, we read "NYC sees surge in synthetic pot use, with dire consequences." Synthetic marijuana is a deadly yet legal substance that preys on ignorant populations, such as New York's homeless. "The cheap knock-off weed is spiked with unknown chemicals that are supposed to mimic the more mellow effects of pot," but has caused "a spike in emergency room visits in New York City (and Anchorage) by users suffering from high blood pressure, hallucinations, hot flashes and psychotic meltdowns that can turn violent or deadly." The cannabis coalition consensus is, unknown leaf sprayed with chemicals, ugh. What herb is the leaf? What are the chemicals? We don't know. We wouldn't smoke synthetic anything. Only an ignorant cannabis-deprived soul, desperate for relief from poverty and misery, would stoop so low as to try synthetic marijuana. [continues 112 words]
Well, Alaska's Marijuana Control Board has released the third package of proposed regulations and held meetings in Anchorage on Monday and Tuesday. Regulators heard feedback and discussed the rules taking shape for Alaska's legal cannabis industry. Today, we'll look at a question related to some of those rules under development. "Fishboy from Juneau" asks: "Will extracts like BHO (Butane Hash Oil) and shatter be available for us Alaskans? What do the laws look like surrounding concentrates?" It appears at this point that, yes, concentrates like those will be available for Alaskans once the licenses to produce, test and sell them are granted. But some discussion remains before the final rules take shape, and no one's been licensed yet. As we've learned previously, home production of concentrates for personal use is restricted in several localities to non-solvent-based extraction methods that lack the potential for fire or explosion, so recreational consumers will have to wait for the legal availability of the sophisticated products Fishboy identifies. [continues 476 words]
Is it just me, or does it seem that all bodies of state and local government have done everything they could to thwart the will of the people since the initiative to legalize pot was passed? - - Andrew Smith Anchorage [end]
Should Alaskans be the only ones allowed to invest in marijuana businesses? What distance should be mandated between a school and a marijuana establishment? In downtown Anchorage Tuesday, the Marijuana Control Board grappled with these questions as it reviewed the second set of draft regulations, working through each article in turn, and often focusing on areas that had spurred the most public comment. Tuesday's meeting was more subdued than the day before, when five businesses that had received cease-and-desist orders spoke out against any actions the state may take to shut them down. On Tuesday, markedly fewer people were in attendance, with around 20 audience members sitting through the meeting. [continues 864 words]
The Marijuana Control Board on Monday laid out its most comprehensive set of draft regulations yet for Alaska's fledgling cannabis industry, including a proposal that would ban marijuana social clubs, even as owners of existing clubs spoke out against any actions by the state that would shutter their doors. The newly created board is holding a two-day meeting at the Atwood Building in downtown Anchorage, and heard Monday morning from business owners who had been sent cease-and-desist letters by the state. [continues 964 words]
"Chilly Willy" asks Highly Informed this week, "Will I be able to barter, or trade for service, my legally grown weed? Will there be a safe and legal way for me to trade my bud?" Willy is asking about personal-use herb, not any grown by proxy for a medical card holder, and not any grown by licensed commercial growers after they're established. While strictly speaking, trading goods or services for personal-use cannabis is not allowed according to the state, some circumstances might make enforcement or regulation difficult. [continues 695 words]
Anchorage police said Wednesday that at least 30 people were taken to the hospital over the past four days with serious health problems related to using Spice, an illegal designer drug. In response to the recent increase in Spice-related hospitalizations, police released a statement Wednesday afternoon asking people to contact them with any information on the source of the synthetic drug banned by local laws and a state law. Lisa Sauder, the executive director of Bean's Cafe, said Wednesday that a stream of ambulances responded throughout the day to the downtown soup kitchen that provides meals and social services for homeless people. [continues 750 words]
This week, a reader asks a question getting to the heart of an issue that will eventually need resolution as Alaska's attempt to structure its legal cannabis industry goes forward. Other states that have legalized pot have roads leading more or less from every pot store to every potential customer. But a great many Alaskans live off the road system. They rely on small planes for travel and on air cargo parcels for practically everything, from construction supplies to bulk grocery items, and even alcohol. [continues 1526 words]
Heroin is killing Alaskans at alarming rates, and unless we do something to address the problem now, it will only get worse. Heroin-related deaths in Alaska tripled between 2008 and 2013. In 2012, the rate of heroin overdose deaths was 42 percent higher than the national rate. Alaskans are no strangers to the heroin and opiate abuse crisis killing our friends, family and neighbors. We read reports weekly of heroin seizures, ruined lives, overdose deaths and grieving families. Recently, we read that heroin is taking an unprecedented toll on Alaska ("Public health officials find steep rise in Alaska heroin deaths, overdoses," ADN, July 14). The article highlighted findings of a new report by the Division of Public Health that every Alaska public official should read, entitled "Health Impacts of Heroin Use in Alaska." [continues 621 words]
On the front page of the July 22 ADN there was an article about the Anchorage Police Department, with six to eight officers having drawn their weapons, seizing a van. This van had just delivered marijuana and its seizure was part of an ongoing investigation. Over the several months that these delivery services have been in operation, to the best of my knowledge, none have been the cause of, been involved in, or even been close to, any violent crimes. Violent crimes would include fights, assaults, knifings, shootings, home invasions, rapes or murders. [continues 100 words]
FAIRBANKS (AP) -- The Fairbanks North Star Borough has made its proposed ordinance dealing with the nascent marijuana industry public. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports that borough Mayor Luke Hopkins plans to introduce the ordinance at the July 30 Borough Assembly meeting. The 14-page document became public in a packet outlining the meeting agenda. The ordinance must be reviewed by the Planning Commission and approved by the assembly before it becomes law. In the ordinance, a 500-foot buffer zone around schools, playgrounds and public housing with children is proposed. A 200-foot buffer would be around colleges, universities and vocational schools and a 100-foot buffer would surround residential areas, youth centers, public pools and arcades. The proposal also limits home grown marijuana intended to be sold to property outside of residential zones. [end]
Chris wonders after a previous Highly Informed column noted that alternatives to smoking cannabis aren't without potential risks: "I've been a daily user of edibles and am feeling like I've become allergic: runny nose, stuffed sinus, sneezing etc. Is this a possible side effect?" First off, it is possible for people to be allergic to cannabis, and the indications so far are that such allergies respond to common treatments. Cannabis, like many other plants, weeds and grasses, can cause the immune system to overreact in defense. That overreaction is what we call an allergy. An extreme kind of allergic reaction is known as anaphylaxis. It is severe and life-threatening, and can come upon someone in seconds. In anaphylaxis, the flood of chemicals sent by the body can cause symptoms like shock, constriction of the airway and decrease in blood pressure. [continues 1324 words]
In the past two months, police have seized two cars from an Anchorage marijuana delivery service. The owners said they've been left in the dark about when -- or even if -- their property will be returned. Experts say current search and seizure laws allow law enforcement to take and hold the property, though they contend the Alaska Legislature needs to rethink the laws in terms of a ballot initiative that legalized recreational marijuana in Alaska. Michael Crites, who owns Absolutely Chronic Delivery Company along with his wife, said two Anchorage Police Department stings in recent months resulted in the loss of two cars tied to the business. [continues 976 words]
Basic economics says that limiting supply will drive up price. Presumably heroin deaths in Alaska are lower than they might be due to a high price for the drug caused by the limit on supply created by its illegality. But the "elasticity of demand" for an addictive substance is low; people will pay anything at all for it if they need it (note that bars do fine in tough economic times). We might question whether the high price actually promotes its use, since sellers are so motivated by the high profit margins that they not only risk long prison terms but will fight deadly battles to protect "market share" from other sellers. I recommend that policymakers and those who vote for them read "Chasing the Scream" by Johann Hari, a polemical history of drug laws in America and worldwide. - - Frank Cahill Anchorage [end]
I don't smoke pot but I defer to the many Alaskans who have opted to make it legal. Now watching from the comfort of my heavily stuffed armchair I watch as our government makes the rules of the road for using marijuana; rules that will probably make it more difficult to use than when it was illegal. For example, you can't consume it in public (no one has clearly defined public), you can only have six plants of which only three can be flowering (as determined by the city's newly appointed on-call forensic botanist), and now my favorite fresh from the Assembly (drum roll please) ... you have to keep it in your trunk when transporting it and if you have a vehicle without a trunk you'll be arrested for not having a trunk. [continues 103 words]
This week, Highly Informed will take on a question that may seem a bit absurd on its face but is actually quite interesting to consider. Sometimes entertaining absurdity can be instructive, and sometimes (as with the famous quotation ascribed to Tertullian defending a core tenet of Christianity, "I believe it because it is absurd") it can serve as the basis for strong conviction. With that in mind, Let's get to it. "Concerned Citizen" asks: "Dear Highly Informed, if morning conditions are right in the Anchorage bowl, would it be possible for an inversion to trap all the pot smoke and get the whole city high?" [continues 1755 words]
Alaska's Budding Marijuana Entrepreneurs Waver Between What's Legal and What's Not At a glance, Alaska's first marijuana trade show suggested a slow march forward on the path toward regulated, commercial weed. After fighting to be allowed to display marijuana at the Northwest Cannabis Classic in mid-May, organizer Cory Wray was given the OK just days before the event. Vendors could display marijuana at the show, legally and with the blessing of the city. Thousands of cannabis enthusiasts and entrepreneurs flocked to the Dena'ina Center for the event. They congregated around bushy marijuana plants, lingered on the third-floor deck -- where it was easy to catch a whiff of pot smoke -- and listened to seminars by some of the major players in the emerging industry. [continues 2671 words]
Heroin is taking a unprecedented toll on Alaska, with deaths, overdoses and medical costs sharply rising, according to a new report by the state Division of Public Health. The 18-page report, released Tuesday, details the dimensions of the problem. It comes a week after the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the similarly staggering results of their own survey of heroin and opiate use nationwide. Related: After a daughter's heroin overdose, a mother's grief Among the findings in the Alaska report: [continues 693 words]
Forget the Funyuns and drop the Doritos. New research out of Arctic Canada suggests that marijuana users, for some yet-to-be-understood reason, are slimmer and less at risk for diabetes than non-users. A study by Quebec researchers found that among Inuit residents of Nunavik, the province's northernmost region, use of cannabis was correlated with lower body-mass-index measurements, lower body-fat percentages and less insulin resistance. Body-mass index, or BMI, and body-fat percentages are used to determine obesity or overweight conditions; insulin resistance, a condition in which the body fails to respond properly to the hormone insulin, is a precursor of Type 2 diabetes and is associated with other poor health conditions. [continues 649 words]
The authors of a proposed Anchorage ordinance expanding open-container laws to marijuana want you to keep your cannabis in the trunk of your car. Anchorage Assembly members Ernie Hall and Amy Demboski will introduce four proposed ordinances at Tuesday's Assembly meeting that touch on the finer points of marijuana regulation, from defining "personal cultivation" to possession of cannabis in limousines. A chance for the public to weigh in will come later. The proposed ordinances are largely "housekeeping" matters of bringing municipal code into alignment with state statute, Hall said. [continues 472 words]
Does the picture of a man "toking up" really belong on the front page of your newspaper? I am simply amazed viewing people in the news, and on TV puffing smoke into the camera and into our faces with the most infantile look. It's almost like a small child receiving an ice cream cone for the first time, only that would deserve an exhilarating look! Is this what we've become? Looking for the next high and then the next, and then the next? Heaven help us if we try to enjoy activities in a sober state. I can voice my opinion as I have lived in a glass house, but fortunately chose to live and function in an unaltered state! - - Rolf L. Bilet Anchorage [end]
Thanks to everyone for having patience during Highly Informed's hiatus. We start back up this week with an intriguing question from "Lago Prano": "I know authorities have been saying that selling pot is illegal, but what about buying it? Is the act of buying pot against the law if you don't buy too much?" This question opens up a few interesting implications for anti-drug policy itself, but we'll keep the discussion focused on Alaska. The short answer is no; the very act of handing someone money in Alaska and receiving a legal amount of cannabis is not illegal for the person handing over the money. [continues 1220 words]
Alaska stands to make between $5.1 million and $19.2 million in tax revenue from commercial marijuana in 2016, according to a preliminary estimate by the Alaska Department of Revenue. An estimate dated Jan. 2 looks at possible revenues that it calls "very uncertain." The tax division had to estimate both how much marijuana is consumed in Alaska every year and what proportion of consumers will switch to marijuana from the legal retail market, said Ken Alper, Department of Revenue tax division director. [continues 759 words]
Judging by the scene at Pot Luck Events on Wednesday night, one would never guess the state has advised the club to shut down. Members had come to the downtown Anchorage marijuana social club to smoke, take dab hits and watch the "Chronic Comedy Show," while eating free candy provided at the nonalcoholic bar. "Bud of the week" samples -- provided by growers, not the club, owner Theresa Collins explained -- were displayed on a table in the back of the room. Yet the club, which has been open since March, is one of six businesses that received cease-and-desist letters from Cynthia Franklin, director of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board and the newly created Marijuana Control Board, in late June. [continues 1200 words]
The five members who will make up Alaska's first Marijuana Control Board were named Wednesday morning by Gov. Bill Walker. The Marijuana Control Board is tasked with crafting Alaska's regulations surrounding legalized recreational and commercial marijuana. The board is made up of volunteers and will function under the auspices of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, sharing the staff and resources of the agency. Walker said in a release the appointees "bring with them decades of experience in public health, business development and rural issues. With their different backgrounds and diverse skill sets, they will help shepherd in regulations for this new industry." [continues 343 words]
Q: We legalized pot in this state in February, so can you tell me how I got fired for THC on my drug test last week? I smoke in my house and on my own time and it's none of my employer's business. A: Although we legalized recreational marijuana use in Alaska, you probably don't have a winnable lawsuit, particularly if your organization has a zero-tolerance policy regarding drug use. [continues 669 words]
