Although many cities are waiting to base their local marijuana regulations on what the state develops, the Kenai City Council identified areas they can focus on last night.
Kenai Mayor Pat Porter …
Mayor Porter: “There are certain things that we can move forward with and that’s planning and zoning, where those type of facilities would be located and that’s definitely their job so it was our job here tonight to give them a little bit of direction of where to go to start work on it. But there’s going to be a lot of public hearings and we’re going to be listening to what our public wants.”
She intends to bring forward an ordinance that would put a moratorium on marijuana related businesses until state regulations are released.
Green Rush Events co-owners Joshua Bird and Corey Rorem said from what was discussed it didn’t sound like that would affect their current business.
Bird: “And anything that the council decides, if they make regulations for a club like this, we’ll abide by any rules that they come up with.”
Recently Green Rush was issued what they considered a blanket letter from the Alcoholic Beverage and Marijuana Control Boards’ Director Cynthia Franklin which went out to marijuana clubs across Alaska.
Rorem said the letter did not state they were violating any laws.
Rorem: “Illegitimate because it has not been sanctioned specifically. She’s saying because we are not a marijuana cultivator or retailer or processor, that our business model does not exist and therefore cannot exist without their approval.”
The owners stated that the portions of the letter indicating unlawfulness did not apply to them and the statements sent to Green Rush were retracted in the Marijuana Control Board’s meeting this morning.