Members of the Borough Marijuana Task Force failed a motion to recommend that the Assembly not create any local commercial cannabis regulations in addition to the state’s rules.
When the vote was called, task force member Marc Theiler struggled visibly to decide, finally voting no.
Theiler: “Just because the motion would have kind of silenced the deal, it was a motion that would have just kind of stopped the conversation and the other people up here obviously wanted to have more conversation. The state laws and regulations aren’t in place yet so there is an unknown and question mark. So when you’ve got other people up here that do want to have continued dialogue and do believe that there are some unknowns, and there are some legitimate unknowns right now, closing off conversation would be no good.”
The statewide Marijuana Control Board’s commercial cannabis regulations were amended and finalized December 1, the Alaska Department of Law will review them, and then send those to the Lt. Governor to be signed into law.
Member Ron Long’s comments were similar to Theiler’s, saying he could not support the motion because it implied that state regulations are flawless and the borough does not need to address any local topics.
Task force member Dollynda Phelps originally brought the motion forward, calling the proposed state regulations “very very strict”.
The task force failed the motion six to three with only Chair Leif Abel, Dave Nunley, and Phelps voting yes.
The next Borough Marijuana Task Force meeting will be at 6:00 pm, Wednesday, January 20, in the Borough Assembly Chambers.
