The City of Soldotna is deciding whether to establish local option regulations for commercial marijuana.
In a work session Wednesday, Soldotna’s City Attorney Brooks Chandler gave council members an overview of Alaska’s regulations for personal use marijuana, which are the same across the state.
Soldotna Police Chief Peter Mlynarik, who is a member of the Marijuana Control Board, presented the regulations being created for commercial marijuana, the portion of the new industry with local option.
City Manager Mark Dixson…
Dixson: “There really isn’t one are of concern. We haven’t narrowed the issues to that extent yet. We’re still looking at the big picture and the next work session on September 9th is to probably get a little more focused on where the city wants to go in this new industry.”
If Soldotna decides to create a set of local regulations, some options included: providing input on who commercial marijuana licenses are given to along with a veto power; a tax on commercial marijuana establishments; or banning commercial marijuana.
If a local option is not created by Soldotna, the Marijuana Control Board will provide licenses to applicants in the city, police will enforce the statewide commercial marijuana regulations, and “canna-businesses” would be treated like any other business.
Another work session is scheduled for 4:15 pm Wednesday, September 9, before the city council’s regular meeting at Soldotna City Hall.
