Governor Bill Walker has met with a variety of agencies to lock down the timeline of adopting regulations and accepting applications for marijuana licenses.
Alcohol Beverage Control Board Director Cindy Franklin said the meetings were to address the Alaska statute which entails ballot initiative 2 that was approved by voters November 4.
Franklin: “The statute becomes effective February 24th, it gives us 9 months till November 24th to get the regulations approved by the board. Then there are other processes in the regulation writing procedure that need to be fallowed, the lieutenant governor has to approve them and the regulations themselves have to be enacted and there is going to have to be an application period. There are going to be decisions that are made as the regulations are written regarding how many licenses might be issued, what types of licenses they are, how closely they mirror the liquor license that the board already issues.”
She said that although that timeline has little wiggle room, the ABC Board, Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development and the Department of Revenue all have agreed that those can be met and licenses are expected to be awarded by late May 2016.
The meetings also addressed a new Marijuana Control Board, if established by the legislature—to implement the initiative. The board would be housed within Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development, which is leading the interdepartmental effort to adopt regulations for a smooth and successful launch of the industry, while at the same time upholding public safety and supporting public health.
