Juneau’s first legal marijuana businesses is facing financial and licensing problems.<\/p>\n
The City and Borough of Juneau Assembly voted 5-2 Monday night to protest renewal of Rainforest Farms’ cultivation and retail licenses in light of almost $35,000 in unpaid 2019 sales taxes.<\/p>\n
All merchants in the city and borough are required to collect a 5 percent sales tax when goods are sold —marijuana<\/a> is also subject to an additional 3 percent sales tax — and send the collected money to the city. Sales tax revenue is used for general government operations and capital projections.<\/p>\n Mayor Beth Weldon and Assembly members Maria Gladziszewski, Carole Triem, Alicia Hughes-Skandijs and Wade Bryson voted for a motion that would protest renewal for the retail license by the end of the day Wednesday and the cultivation licence renewal by the end of the day Thursday until the unpaid taxes are either paid or a confession of judgment for the unpaid sum is obtained.<\/p>\n A confession of judgment in this case would be a contract that established responsibility for repaying $34,808.74.<\/p>\n Assembly member Loren Jones recused himself from the vote and discussion since he is on the state’s Marijuana Control Board<\/a>, and Assembly member Rob Edwards was not present.<\/p>\n [Empire Live: Assembly considers marijuana licenses, a warming center move and more<\/a>]<\/ins><\/p>\n The matter generated nearly an hour of discussion since two men with the company WCC doing business as Green Leaf Alaska delivered testimony. Both Aaron Bean of Sitka and Michael Scarcelli, who said he resides in Juneau, urged the Assembly to not protest the license renewals, or at least treat each license as separate matters.<\/p>\n