A bill fixing a problem with the ballot measure that legalized marijuana in Alaska is advancing toward a final vote.<\/p>\n
House Bill 75 advanced out of conference committee on a 6-0 vote on Monday morning, bound for votes on the House and Senate floors. The bill, drafted last year, has been put on a diet and now includes just three core provisions.<\/p>\n
The first provision limits home marijuana grows to six plants (three flowering) if one person lives in a home. If two or more people live in a home, the limit is 12 plants (six flowering).<\/p>\n
The second provision allows unincorporated communities with 25 or more residents to opt out of the commercial marijuana industry by holding an election.<\/p>\n
The third provision calls for the Alaska Supreme Court to set a bail schedule for new, minor marijuana offenses.<\/p>\n
Those provisions are the result of a compromise between the House and Senate, which passed differing versions of the bill. A conference committee was appointed to iron out the differences.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey got the plant limit, and we got the opt-out,\u201d said Rep. Cathy Tilton, R-Wasilla and chairwoman of the conference committee.<\/p>\n
The House had favored a 24-plant limit, with the Senate preferring the 12-plant limit.<\/p>\n
On commercial sales in unincorporated areas of the state, the House had favored an opt-out election, while the Senate favored opt-in language.<\/p>\n
The opt-in language, promoted by Sen. Lyman Hoffman, D-Bethel, would have banned commercial marijuana businesses in all areas of the state not within an incorporated city or borough. Home-grown marijuana and personal use would still have been allowed.<\/p>\n
Hoffman declined to comment for this story, but Tilton said the key to obtaining a compromise was simply \u201ctime.\u201d<\/p>\n
Had the conference committee not acted, the state\u2019s unincorporated towns and villages would have no way to prohibit local sales. The plant limit on a given home would have been six plants per person with no maximum per house or structure.<\/p>\n
Under the approved language, if a borough allows commercial operations but a community within that borough forbids them, the community\u2019s rule takes precedent within the boundaries of that community. For unincorporated communities, the municipal boundary is a circle with a five-mile radius centered on the local post office. If there is no post office, the community\u2019s local governing body will select an alternative.<\/p>\n
The bill must be approved in House and Senate floor votes and signed by Gov. Bill Walker to become law.<\/p>\n
No commercial marijuana licenses have yet been issued. The first cultivation and testing licenses are expected June 9. The first retail sale licenses are not expected until the fall.<\/p>\n
Public comment opens on \u2018cafe\u2019 regulation<\/strong><\/p>\n When retail sales begin this fall, marijuana retailers could be eligible for an \u201con-site consumption endorsement\u201d that allows a cafe-like operation. In Juneau, such an operation would still be subject to the borough\u2019s no-smoking ordinance, which bans indoor smoking.<\/p>\n The rules for this endorsement are now open for public comment. To view the draft regulation, visit http:\/\/1.usa.gov\/1XvE0eS<\/a>. To submit a comment on the draft, email john.calder@alaska.gov with \u201consite consumption endorsement\u201d in the subject of the email.<\/p>\n Marijuana handler cards available<\/strong><\/p>\n Anyone who works at a commercial marijuana business will be required to undergo training and receive an Alaska Marijuana Handler Card from the state.<\/p>\n Application forms for cards were available from the state starting Monday. To apply for a card, first complete a training course through www.handlealaska.com<\/a> or www.akmjhandler.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n