Businesses decry Wasilla's new weed law

WASILLA — A marijuana lobbyist told Valley growers Wednesday he didn’t expect Wasilla’s recent ban against edibles to stand up to a possible court challenge.

Bruce Schulte, public relations manager for the Coalition for Responsible Cannabis Legislation, told a crowded room at the Northshore Ale House that the new city law was likely unconstitutional.

“How can you tell people what to do in their own homes?” he said.

Schulte was referring to a Monday night vote by the city council outlawing edibles, extracts and concentrates, limiting possession in a car to a total of two ounces, rather than two ounces per person, and establishing a public nuisance law for consumption.

Legalization was met throughout the state with an underwhelming public response this week, which may make marijuana use more politically palatable, Schulte said.

“The biggest thing that happened yesterday is that nothing happened,” he said.

That’s good for newly enacted possession laws, because users will likely face extra scrutiny in the coming months as the drug moves from private possession and growing into a full-blown industry, Schulte said.

Legalization will likely move forward in stages, ultimately concluding with the November 2016 two-year anniversary of legalization, when the Legislature could potentially alter or repeal it, Schulte said.

“That’s the point where they (the Legislature) hopefully realize that it’s not a problem and they don’t have to do anything about it,” he said.

Schulte pointed to concerns about the use of butane in creating hash oil among legislators, including Sen. John Coghill, (R-Fairbanks), who is skeptical of hash oil production following a December hash oil explosion in a North Pole kitchen.

“He had someone who blew their house up in his district,” he said. “That’s obviously going to be a difficult sell.”

Questions Feb. 25 generally focused around what could be considered legal or illegal under the current law.

For example, while the sale of marijuana and the operation of marijuana establishments currently remain illegal under Alaska law, and will eventually be allowed under licensure, Bill Fikes was curious whether an existing business could serve as a marijuana club.

“If at some point you wanted to shut the doors and turn it into a members only club, would that be OK?” he asked.

The answer wasn’t immediately clear, Schulte said.

“That’s a tough one,” he said. “It’s a private business and there are real concerns about that.”

Fikes also asked about having a large number of people — he used 25 as an example — over for a party, with a bucket out asking for voluntary donations, not for the weed, but for rent. That was probably within the bounds of state laws, Schulte said.

Another person asked about the potential for party buses, and concerns about smoking in moving vehicles.

“I would just caution you to be very careful,” he said.

For example, if a passenger in a car wants to smoke, it’s probably better to pull over and let them smoke before getting back on the road, Schulte said.

Organizers of the event said it had been in the works for weeks, and wasn’t intended as a direct response to the Wasilla vote.

Wasilla city council members have generally said they were acting in the absence of clear direction from the Legislature, and because Wasilla residents voted against legalization, unlike the Valley’s other incorporated cities, which voted in support of legalization.

The speaking engagement, sponsored by Midnight Greenery, which aspires to become the Valley’s first seed-to-sale agricultural operation, comes amid steps taken by the Legislature and state agencies to temporarily fill in gaps in state regulations. Among the most common complaints heard in public discourse is that state regulations don’t presently define “public place” in connection with marijuana use, and the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board issued emergency regulations the night before legalization, bringing the definition of “in public,” the language used in the new law, in line with “public place.”

Alaska Gov. Bill Walker also introduced Senate Bill 60, which establishes a marijuana control board separate from the Alcoholic Beverage Control board. At the same time, the Alaska Senate Judiciary Committee introduced SB 62, which sets out a rubric for licensing for individual stores, establishes an excise tax of $50 per ounce, and requires that a product containing 10 milligrams of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, be separately packaged and labeled.

The two bills join three previously submitted House bills — HB 59, HB 75, and HB 79 — and a previously submitted Senate bill — SB 30 — and already working through the Legislature.

The Marijuana Policy Project also has launched a website outlining guidelines for responsible use at consumepresponsibly.org.

Contact Brian O’Connor at 352-2269 or brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com, or on Twitter @reporterbriano.