Gov. Bill Walker has removed Bruce Schulte from the Marijuana Control Board.<\/p>\n
Walker\u2019s letter gives little explanation for Schulte\u2019s removal. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhile I have appreciated your willingness to serve on the Marijuana Control Board, I have determined that your continued representation on this board is not in the best interest of Alaska,\u201d stated the letter signed by Walker and dated Friday.<\/p>\n
Schulte said he received a voicemail from Walker\u2019s deputy chief of staff John Hozey on Friday afternoon informing Schulte he was off the board. Schulte, a commercial pilot out flying at the time, said he left several messages but hasn\u2019t heard back from Hozey for any explanation. <\/p>\n
Hozey did not immediately return a call from the Journal asking for comment, nor did board chair Peter Mlynarik, board member Mark Springer, or Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office Executive Director Cynthia Franklin. <\/p>\n
The removal comes shortly after Schulte being voted out of his role as board chair at the June 9 meeting and replaced with Mlynarik, the Soldotna Chief of Police, who is gathering signatures for a commercial cannabis ban in unincorporated areas of the Kenai Peninsula Borough.<\/p>\n
The next board meeting is scheduled for Sept. 7 when the first retail licenses are expected to be issued. The vacancy leaves the board with four members.<\/p>\n
The Journal will update this story as it receives responses. <\/p>\n
\u201cI honestly have no idea (why I\u2019ve been removed),\u201d said Schulte. \u201cNo explanation. No preface. I have no clue.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schulte said he feels like his time on the board ended too abruptly and without having accomplished what he wanted to in terms of industry success. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I think back on all the work that I put in, it was almost like a part-time job. That\u2019s 2,000 hours of my time I just pissed away. It\u2019s a little disheartening.\u201d<\/p>\n
Board member Brandon Emmett of Fairbanks, who has applied for a cannabis production license, said he does not know why Schulte was removed and hopes his replacement continues Schulte\u2019s work.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Schulte is an ardent advocate for the marijuana industry,\u201d said Emmett. \u201cI admired his zeal for staying true to the voter initiative timelines and assuring the industry was fairly represented. I can only speculate as to the reason for his removal, but would hope Walker sees fit to insert a strong, responsible voice in his place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schulte served as the board\u2019s chair and a designated industry representative seat from its 2015 inception through the June 9 meeting, during which he was replaced with Mlynarik by a board vote of 3-2, with himself and Emmett voting against. <\/p>\n
Schulte said he believes his removal is an attempt to dilute direct industry representation on the board by installing a non-industry member to replace him, leaving only Emmett as an industry representative. <\/p>\n
According to HB 123, which established the Marijuana Control Board, the governor must appoint \u201cone person from the public safety sector; one person from the public health sector; one person currently residing in a rural area; one person actively engaged in the marijuana industry; and one person who is either from the general public or actively engaged in the marijuana industry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schulte\u2019s removal has opened a spot for another industry seat, but the governor\u2019s Boards and Commissions office posted a notice for a replacement for an \u201cindustry\/public board representative.\u201d<\/p>\n
This designation is not in line with statutory designations that Schulte and Emmett filled. <\/p>\n
According to Schulte, \u201cI was industry, Brandon Emmett is industry\/public.\u201d <\/p>\n
Emmett confirmed that he is the board\u2019s industry\/public member.<\/p>\n
When Walker announced the board\u2019s makeup in 2015, his press release made no distinction.<\/p>\n
\u201cAppointed to the two industry seats are Bruce Schulte from Anchorage and Brandon Emmett from Fairbanks. Per HB 123, the Governor needs to select two people for the initial appointments to the Marijuana Control Board with experience in the marijuana industry. This experience can be obtained through lawful participation in the marijuana industry or participation in an academic or advocacy role relating to the marijuana industry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schulte said he views his removal as evidence of industry antagonism by Walker\u2019s administration. <\/p>\n
\u201cI have witnessed some highly questionable behavior on the part of several in this administration and I can only assume from my own dismissal that Gov. Walker condones that questionable behavior, and that is truly shameful,\u201d said Schulte.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe there is another agenda at work here \u2014 and it is definitely not what the voters asked for. The appearance of transparency is, in my opinion, a thinly-veiled fa\u00e7ade intended to obscure the fact that they have no real intention of letting a lawful marijuana industry get started in Alaska.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schulte said plans to remove both him and Emmett from the board have been in the works for months.<\/p>\n
\u201cJohn Hozey himself did confirm to me that Franklin was trying to keep (Emmett) from being reappointed because she felt that it would weaken the industry\u2019s position on the board,\u201d said Schulte.<\/p>\n
The board reviewed a regulatory addition in July that would have prepared for a four-member board. <\/p>\n
At the MCB\u2019s July 7 meeting in Fairbanks, a regulation was advanced to the board that would have given the executive director Franklin the ability to cast a tie-breaking vote in the event of a board tie.<\/p>\n
Some of the Marijuana Control Board\u2019s five members, who frequently cast 3-2 votes, voted against the measure and it was struck from regulation proposal language. <\/p>\n
If a vote is tied at 2-2, any license or matter before the board would fail.<\/p>\n
Schulte took the position of board chair at the expense of his position as president of the Alaska Marijuana Industry Association. He said he does not know whether or not he will return to the association. Though the board\u2019s former industry representative, Schulte has not yet submitted a license proposal for the retail business he\u2019d been planning to open in Anchorage. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m reevaluating my entire involvement with marijuana right now,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m fairly certain I\u2019m not going to have the marijuana business I envisioned. I don\u2019t think there\u2019s a hope in hell I\u2019m going to get a license here in the state.\u201d<\/p>\n
The removal comes shortly after the public knowledge that Mlynarik, the Soldotna Chief of Police, is a registered signature gatherer for a petition that would put a commercial cannabis ban ballot initiative onto the Kenai Peninsula Borough ticket in October. <\/p>\n
Mlynarik has insisted that his personal involvement with the petition should not concern the industry, as his personal opinion and board behavior are separate issues. He said his voting record on license approval beginning June 9 should speak for itself, as he has voted in favor of each license. <\/p>\n
The situation, Schulte said, has soured him on the industry\u2019s prospects for success. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf I were just any guy, thinking I want to start a marijuana business, I would tell that guy, \u2018don\u2019t spend a lot of money on it right now. You may be in for a really rude awakening.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n
DJ Summers is a reporter for the Alaska Journal of Commerce. He can be reached at daniel.summers@alaskajournal.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Gov. Bill Walker has removed Bruce Schulte from the Marijuana Control Board. Walker\u2019s letter gives little explanation for Schulte\u2019s removal. \u201cWhile I have appreciated your willingness to serve on the Marijuana Control Board, I have determined that your continued representation on this board is not in the best interest of Alaska,\u201d stated the letter signed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":21477,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","wds_primary_category":4,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[230],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-21476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-state-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/107"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21476"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21476\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21476"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=21476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}