Anchorage officials will mark off the minimum 500 feet between schools and pot shops by using walking distances, not a straight line, the Anchorage Assembly decided in a unanimous vote Tuesday night. The decision means more potential properties will be available for pot businesses in Anchorage. The Assembly's vote, a reversal from two weeks earlier, effectively loosens restrictions on where businesses will be allowed to open by in some cases shrinking the off-limits zone around schools and other restricted places. [continues 531 words]
When it comes to setting up a pot business in Anchorage, the way its distance is measured from a school can make a big difference in whether the business is allowed or not. At its most recent meeting, amid a flurry of amendments to land use regulations, the Anchorage Assembly passed conflicting rules for the measurement method. One amendment, from Assemblymembers Amy Demboski and Bill Starr, specified that distances would be measured "as the crow flies" -- from the edge of a marijuana business to the lot line of a protected area -- instead of by pedestrian routes, which could be more circuitous. [continues 657 words]
When pot businesses can legally open in Anchorage later this year, they'll have to be at least 500 feet from schools in most parts of the city, the Anchorage Assembly decided Tuesday night. The Assembly also narrowly voted against a proposal to allow on-site consumption in retail stores, at least for now. That question was referred back to the Assembly's committee on marijuana regulation. Assembly members said the city should wait for the outcome of still-evolving state regulations before adopting local rules on marijuana bars or cafes -- but left undisturbed laws for private social clubs, where customers can bring their own pot to consume. [continues 548 words]
A ban on marijuana bars and social clubs and random marijuana testing for pesticides or other harmful substances at retail stores are among the more contentious elements of Anchorage's draft cannabis business license regulations released this week. Anchorage officials have been developing a local license for marijuana businesses as a way to give local government more control over enforcement. But industry leaders have said a local license would be redundant to a state license and overly burdensome, and have promised to fight it in the coming weeks. [continues 365 words]
The Anchorage Assembly on Tuesday night approved a ballot measure that will ask voters in April whether marijuana retail sales should be taxed, starting at 5 percent. The ballot measure would authorize the Assembly to increase the tax up to 12 percent without going back to voters again, but only once every two years and by a maximum of 2 percent each time. For the first three years, the revenue would fall outside the city tax cap. After nearly an hour of debate, the Assembly voted 9-2 to approve the measure, with Patrick Flynn and Amy Demboski in opposition. [continues 859 words]
Sooner or later, anyone hoping for a permit to grow, test, manufacture or sell marijuana products in an Anchorage neighborhood will need to meet face-to-face with neighbors -- and sooner may be better. Neighborhood groups and community councils have no regulatory authority to block a proposed marijuana business or require certain conditions. But Anchorage Assembly members, who do have the regulatory authority, have said they plan to take those sentiments into account as Alaska continues on the path to commercial marijuana. And industry representatives have taken note. [continues 1305 words]
Anchorage Assembly members are proposing an April ballot measure to create a 5 percent tax on future retail marijuana sales. Ernie Hall, chair of the Assembly's committee on marijuana regulation and taxation, said Friday the marijuana sales tax should cover the costs of enforcement and oversight when the state starts licensing marijuana businesses in May. "We've got new expenses the city's got to cover," Hall said. "We've got to generate the revenue to be able to do it." [continues 319 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]
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]
The Anchorage Assembly voted late Tuesday night to include marijuana smoke under the city's ban on tobacco smoke. Within 90 days, businesses and building owners will have to amend "No Smoking" signs to include a reference to marijuana smoke, according to the measure adopted Tuesday. The city has already enacted a ban on public consumption, which defines a public place as "a place to which the public or a substantial group of persons has access" and includes streets, highways, sidewalks, alleys, transportation facilities and parks and playgrounds. Many of the facilities outlined in the "secondhand smoking" measure are already covered by the ban on public consumption, according to the measure, introduced by Assembly Chair Dick Traini. [continues 184 words]
Anchorage Assembly Chair Dick Traini is proposing to treat marijuana smoke like tobacco smoke when it comes to public facilities, workplaces and schools. A measure that Traini plans to introduce next week at the Assembly meeting would incorporate marijuana and marijuana products into the city's secondhand smoking law. That means smoking marijuana would not be allowed in public places, workplaces, child care centers, outdoor arenas, stadiums and amphitheaters and municipal facilities, including schools. People also would not be allowed to smoke within 5 feet of the entrance to a place licensed to serve alcohol, or within 50 feet of a hospital or medical clinic entrance. [continues 173 words]
From the variety of specialized products to visitors eager to learn industry tips, the Northwest Cannabis Classic in Anchorage on Saturday looked like a typical trade show. The obvious exceptions were the cannabis plants displayed in glass jars beneath LED lights, helping make what organizers said was the first event of its kind in Alaska since voters approved the legalization of marijuana more than six months ago. Aimed at sharing information about the fledgling industry, the three-day show at the Dena'ina Center features panels, demonstrations and products that range from lighting technology to smoking instruments to flower enhancers and plant food. It generated a buzz, with about 700 people buying presale tickets and about as many day-of tickets bought on Saturday, said event organizer Cory Wray. [continues 941 words]
Anchorage police have arrested and charged a delivery driver for a company that said it was openly selling marijuana in anticipation of Alaska's new legal possession law. Birchie Walter, 35, who works for the company Discreet Deliveries, was arrested on Wednesday when he delivered marijuana to an undercover police officer, according to police communications director Jennifer Castro. He was charged with a misdemeanor, she said. The company had been advertising marijuana deliveries to customers in Anchorage and the Mat-Su. [continues 239 words]
Law Enforcement Officials Point Out Proposition 19's Implications for Problems With Statewide and Campus Regulation Increased marijuana usage rates triggered by Proposition 19 will also spark more marijuana-related crimes, especially on roadways, according to police officers and prosecutors around the state. "It's not going to free up a lot of our resources," said Ethan Shear, a campus police detective who primarily investigates illicit marijuana sales. The bill states that the legalization of marijuana will open up jail cells for more hardened criminals. But under current laws, a person in possession of an ounce or less of marijuana with a valid ID is not eligible to go to prison or even be arrested, said Joseph Esposito, head deputy of the Los Angeles district attorney's narcotics office. [continues 373 words]
