This morning the Senate Finance Committee is scheduled to discuss concerns over how state and federal laws intersect when it comes to marijuana.
Although Alaska voters approved possession, personal use and transportation of limited quantities of marijuana for adults 21 and older, it remains illegal federally.
Sen. Anna MacKinnon said the committee would receive an update Thursday on whether lawmakers can draft state laws that violate federal laws.
Locally, Soldotna Police Chief Peter Mlynarik said last week’s legalization has made little impact on his city, with no one so far using marijuana in public places…
Chief Mlynarik: “It’s been pretty slow, thankfully. I don’t think we’ve had any cases in the Department of anybody being cited or being caught doing that.
The City Council is still considering an ordinance which would further define where marijuana use is prohibited.
Chief Mlynarik: “It’s just going to define a little bit of what our definition of “public” is. In state statute it’s already illegally in public, so the City may have a slightly different definition to that, some other nuances in there that might be a little bit different from the state’s.”