Welcome to Alaska sign on the Yukon Highway (Richard Martin/Flickr)
Alaska lawmakers and regulators have signed off on new regulations explicitly permitting adults to consume cannabis at specially licensed retailers.
Under the new rules, which take effect April 11, licensed cannabis retailers may apply with state regulators for an additional “on-site consumption endorsement.” Local governments may challenge the applications in certain instances, or initiate a municipal vote to limit on site activities.
It is anticipated that the initial on-site consumption areas may be approved by this summer.
While some local municipalities — such as Denver, Colorado and West Hollywood, California — already regulate on-site consumption sites, Alaska is the first adult use jurisdiction to establish such regulations statewide.
“When these rules go into effect, Alaska will be the first state to finalize and approve statewide rules for on-site consumption. We expect more to follow suit in the not too distant future,” stated NORML Executive Director Erik Altieri, “Allowing social consumption is sensible from a business perspective, particularly for states with large amounts of tourists who otherwise have no place to legally consume, but it also has an important social justice component.”
“By preventing retail outlets and other venues from being licensed and regulated for social consumption, many patients will have to chose between effective cannabis treatment for their ailments or being thrown out of public housing,” Altieri continued, “This causes the civil liberties that come with marijuana legalization to still being kept at arms length from low-income individuals and members of other marginalized communities.”
Tags: Alaska, Alaska marijuana legalization, public consumption, social use
