Marijuana reform begins in earnest at state, local levels

PALMER — The Mat-Su Borough assembly is seeking participants for a 17-member board dedicated to looking into marijuana regulations.

A second resolution also passed unanimously calls upon the Legislature to clarify aspects of the recently passed voter initiative making marijuana possession legal in Alaska effective Feb. 26. The pot vote also paves the way for the eventual establishment of marijuana grows and licensed retailers in the state. Legislators took up the matter at a joint judiciary committee meeting Monday, trying to sort through the legislative interaction among the landmark marijuana ruling State of Alaska v. Ravin, the ballot measure passed last fall, and SB 30 — a bill containing changes to Alaska code currently under consideration in Juneau.

Testimony at Monday’s hearing largely revolved around particular points, including whether or not the new law covered hashish oil, whether the slightly more restrictive amounts allowed under the ballot measure actually conflicted with Ravin, and whether or not law enforcement officials actually prosecute cases along the lines of existing Alaskan law. A representative from the Department of Law testified that they generally do not.

A judicial committee hearing on the subject was slated to continue Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.

Assemblyman Jim Sykes authored resolution 15-006, which passed the borough assembly at the Jan. 21 meeting. He’s not necessarily openly in favor of marijuana businesses and retail operations, but says voters have opened a window for officials to either change the status quo or leave it untouched.

“The voters gave us the opportunity, and the question is, are we going to take it or not,” he said. “We are supposed to consider the upsides and downsides of all the issues.”

The issue has enough nuance and will likely require enough consideration to fill a committee’s agenda, Sykes said.

“There are only 7 assembly members, and I don’t see borough staff being able to devote a lot of time“ to the issue, he said. “I think we just have to try to get ahead of the issue.”

Inaction or ill-advised action could result in a missed opportunity, Sykes said.

“What we’ve got going isn’t working very well,” he said. “We do have the opportunity to try and improve it and if we get that right it could be a better deal for a lot of people.”

According to the resolution, the committee is to be comprised of:

•A person potentially interested in growing marijuana

*A person from a non-marijuana farming operation

*A person potentially interested in becoming a marijuana retailer

•A member of the financial community

•A member from a business organization such as a chamber of commerce

•A law enforcement representative

•A healthcare representative

•An education representative

•A person with planning and zoning experience

•A marketer

•Three representatives from the borough who live outside the cities

•A member each from the governments of Houston, Palmer, and Wasilla; and

•A representative of the Mat-Su Borough government at the director level

The approach is markedly more flexible than other similar governments: the Kenai borough will consider a measure to outlaw retail sales, and the municipality of Anchorage recently nixed a similar effort.

The borough has made no concrete effort to do so, and a large number of speakers at a forum among city and borough mayors turned up to speak in favor of marijuana and hemp cultivation in the Valley.

Persons interested in joining the marijuana advisory board can obtain an application at www.matsugov.us/boards. All applications must be submitted to the borough clerk’s office during regular business hours.

Legislative committee hearings stream live via w3.legis.state.ak.us.

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