Houston continues to tweak pot rules

WASILLA — When marijuana businesses start opening their doors in Houston sometime in June this year, on-site consumption of their wares may be allowed.

The Houston City Council voted 4-2 Thursday in favor of an amendment adding on-site consumption to the list of permitted uses for marijuana establishments in its draft zoning ordinances, according to draft minutes provided by deputy clerk Rebecca Rein. Councilwoman Gina Jorgenson and councilman Chris Johnson cast the dissenting votes in front of a standing-room-only audience of about 100 people at the Houston fire station. Officials moved the meeting there to accommodate public interest in the regulations, which tested the capacity of the city council chambers when they were introduced Feb. 12. People who spoke at the meeting came from as far away as Chugiak.

However, Houston has not yet set the final zoning regulations for marijuana businesses, a measure that likely won’t be passed until at least March 24, when the next public hearing on the matter is scheduled. The director of the state’s Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office, Cynthia Franklin, is scheduled to appear either telephonically or in person, according to Rein.

Jorgenson said in a phone interview Monday that she voted against on-site consumption primarily because state law and regulatory decisions could force the city to change its views down the road, not because she is necessarily opposed to marijuana consumption. The Alaska Marijuana Control Board hasn’t made a firm decision about whether or not to allow on-site consumption for businesses.

“The way I looked at it is: we’re putting the cart before the horse,” she said.

Public safety concerns didn’t influence her decision at all, Jorgenson said. She’s also not opposed to on-site consumption on principle.

“I would rather sit with people who are smoking pot than people who are drinking,” she said.

Jorgenson also thinks the economic prospects for marijuana are high, and that most of the users she’s known don’t turn to harder drugs like cocaine or heroin. Meadow Lakes and Houston have long been associated with good weed, Jorgenson said.

“It’s not a gateway drug,” she said. “They go home and do a bong hit. Whoop-de-doo. It’s here, so we might as well make money off of it.”

Houston voters have twice approved marijuana business stances: once in the statewide ballot measure in 2014 that led to legalization; and again in local elections in October, when a proposed retail ban, one of four, was defeated at the polls. City officials have been stoked about the prospects for the business, and Jorgenson agrees.

“It sure as hell isn’t going to hurt,” she said. “We can get parks for the kids. There’s so much that we want to do.”

The March 24 meeting is set for 6 p.m. at Houston Fire Station 9-1, 13965 W. Armstrong Road.