Anchorage – Alaska is likely just weeks away from the states first legal marijuana sales, according to Cynthia Franklin, the Director of the Alcohol and Marijuana Control office.
As of Sept. 28, there are 33 marijuana businesses listed in active status for their licenses. These businesses are some of the closest to operating under the new regulations, but are still subject to credentialing and preliminary inspections, according to the states website. Once the businesses are able to operate, theyll move into effective status.
Remedy Shoppe in Skagway may be the first to do that, and could become the first licensed marijuana retailer in the state.
An inspector from Juneau is flying in to complete the last step of the licensing process an empty shelf inspection, to make sure the shop looks the same as it did on paper to the board. [The owners of Remedy Shoppe] are very eager to be the first licensed retail on October 4, Franklin said. Theyll be ready.
While the facility could be fully licensed next week, it wont have any product to sell. Thats because marijuana must be tested before it’s legally sold, and there are no testing facilities licensed yet in the state.
Franklin said that Canntest in Anchorage is in the final stages of getting approval, and is scheduled for another inspection by mid-October. AK Green Labs, also in Anchorage, is not far behind.
What the public needs to understand is this is not only a very short, stressful timeline for us and our board, its a stressful timeline for new businesses, Franklin said. She says many of the hold ups have been from new businesses simply trying to establish the new statewide industry.
Everybody is trying, but its all new, she said. Its not like we have a big line and were not getting to them. Theyre not calling us.
One part of the industry that is already operating is the cultivation side. Leif Abel with Greatland Ganja in Kasilof says the facility is busy with its first harvest. Its our lifes work, Abel says, What weve been built for or what weve planned for.
Abel says they are storing their product in an undisclosed location until it can be tested and sold. He says the licensing process hasnt been terrible, but it has been way less predictable than any other licensing in the state.
As businesses and as producers of a regulated substance, we are being held to a higher standard than alcohol, even pharmaceuticals, Abel said. As a result, he said, some cultivators have become discouraged and opted not to join the industry.
While he described the process as “arduous” and “complex,” Abel recognizes the board faced many challenges preparing to launch the industry, and he thinks regulators have done a good job in many aspects.
Hopefully the process will get more realistic in the future, he said.
While things could start happening very quickly, overall, it’s likely going to continue to be a slow process.
The analogy I like to use is were building a house, Franklin said.
The board and staff are underneath the house looking at the electricity and plumbing, and in the meantime the public has moved upstairs and is stomping on the floor and trying to turn on the TV and it just takes time to build a house.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker
Full Article: See Where Legal Marijuana Will Be Sold Around Alaska
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