Residents of Alaska's largest city will get a chance to testify on whether commercial marijuana facilities should be banned just a month after the state's voters chose to legalize sales.
The Anchorage Assembly will hear testimony on A0-148, an ordinance that would prohibit the operation of commercial marijuana facilities in the municipality. Assembly member and Anchorage mayoral candidate Amy Demboski introduced the ordinance last month, with Assembly members Dick Traini and Paul Honeman also backing the measure. In November, Alaskans voted to approve Ballot Measure 2, an initiative that legalizes recreational marijuana in the state, 53 to 47 percent.
Ballot Measure 2 includes an "opt-out" provision allowing communities to ban the commercial sale or cultivation of the substance. Demboski has said she would like the Municipality of Anchorage to take a "wait and see" approach to how the Legislature and the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board craft marijuana regulations. Per the initiative, the state has nine months to craft those regulations after the initiative becomes law Feb. 24.
Legalization proponents have argued that Demboski's resolution is premature and that the decision to outlaw commercial operations is unfair to businesses looking to enter the industry. Anchorage voters narrowly approved legalization, with 51 percent of the municipality voting in favor of the statewide initiative.
Testimony is set to begin at 6 p.m. in the Anchorage Assembly chambers at Z.J. Loussac Public Library.
Alaska Dispatch Publishing