Marijuana businesses sprouting in the Mat-Su as supply tries to meet demand

PALMER — Since the Mat-Su Borough Assembly passed its amended conditional-use permit for marijuana businesses on Jan. 10, the legal weed industry is moving forward, with some business owners estimating a steady supply to meet demand by this spring.

The local regulations exempt limited-cultivation operations – growers under 500 square feet – from having to apply for a conditional use permit. They also don’t apply to product manufacturers such as makers of concentrates and edibles, or to testing facilities.

“It was determined by both the marijuana advisory committee and the planning commission that these types of uses did not have the land-use impacts that warranted a conditional use permit process with the borough,” said borough development services manager Alex Strawn. “The testing facilities are essentially a laboratory, and product manufacturers are essentially a commercial kitchen. The state has pretty strict regulations on them as it is.”

All marijuana businesses have to do is get a state license from the Alaska Alcohol & Marijuana Control Office.

At least one local cultivator has decided to re-apply to the state under a limited cultivation license, dropping his original plans for a standard cultivation facility and scaling down to smaller size.

John “Jack” Dupier, owner of American Growers Company, said his decision was prompted by the borough’s inclusion of setback regulations – distances that marijuana businesses must locate from certain objects in nearby areas.

“Total frustration,” Dupier said in reaction to the regulations. “The setback dimensions are just arbitrary. They’re not based on any reasonable number.”

Dupier, who grew up on a homestead in upstate New York tending farm animals, said American Growers Company will grow popular varietals first and then expand to include more local strains.

“We’re starting out in an industry that’s pretty much popping out of nowhere, so we don’t know what the demand and supply is going to be,” he said.

So far, retailers throughout the state have offered far less supply than there is currently demand for, with shops running out of product and staying open for limited hours until more cultivators come on line.

At press time, limited cultivation operator David Straub, owner of Alaska Precision near Willow, was preparing for his final inspection from the State of Alaska. His plants are in the facility and tagged with the required Radio-Frequency Identification tags for tracking by the state, he said.

“It’s going to be awesome to have tracked, regulated, tested product in these dispensaries pretty quick,” Straub said.

So far, he plans to sell to two retailers in the Valley – Denali 420 Recreationals in Houston, and Bad Gramm3r in Wasilla.

Denali 420 opened at 4:20 p.m. on Jan. 28, with marijuana from Stoney Creek Growers in Seward, and edibles from Frozen Budz in Fairbanks.

Tel White, the general manager of Bad Gramm3r, applied for the retailer’s conditional use permit with the borough, along with two other businesses, retailer Green Jar and cultivator High Tide Farms. Public hearings before the assembly for the two retailers will be held March 6, and a public hearing for the High Tide Farms application will be held March 20.

“When Ballot Measure 2 passed, everyone here at Bad Gramm3r knew that this was something we wanted to do,” said White, who is looking forward to a green spring to open up his business.

“Our goal is to be fully operational sometime in April,” White said. “We’ll open when we’ve acquired enough product to stay open for regular business hours.”

Caleb Saunders, owner of Green Jar, said he and his two business partners, one of whom is his wife, have been saving money they made working in Alaska’s oil fields to invest in their retail business.

At press time, the Wasilla resident was in Juneau getting ready to go before AMCO for final approval of the company’s state license.

Saunders said getting product to stock the store will remain a challenge for some time.

“A lot of the growers that I wanted to buy from are still not even getting started, so now I’m being forced to hunt for everything from Fairbanks, Valdez,” Saunders aid. “There’s not too much close by.”

He said Green Jar will focus on quality, with educated bud tenders helping customers select the right marijuana product for them.

Green Jar has already opened its doors as an accessories shop, and is located on Lupine Drive. Saunders said its owners are hoping for a March opening of the shop as a marijuana retailer, with a steady supply coming online around June or July.

“That’s when growers out here in the Mat-Su Valley and Anchorage, the crops should be up and going, flowered and cured by then," he said.

Contact reporter Mary Lockman at 352-2266 or mary.lockman@frontiersman.com