Less than 90 days to LEGAL, AK! Anyone steering this thing?

Got this from Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol today.





Hearing to ban licensed marijuana businesses in Anchorage

Dear Supporter,

On November 4, 53% of Alaska voters approved Measure 2 to legalize and regulate the cultivation, possession, and sale of marijuana. Before the election results were even certified, Anchorage Assembly member Amy Demboski introduced a proposal to ban licensed marijuana businesses in Anchorage. Next Tuesday, December 16, the Assembly will hold a hearing — and possibly a vote — on her proposal. Please email your Assembly members and let them know you oppose a ban.

Please also attend the meeting to show your support for allowing licensed and regulated cultivation centers and retail stores in Anchorage.

Tuesday, December 16, 2014
6 p.m.
Loussac Public Library
Assembly Chambers, Room 108
3600 Denali Street

Anchorage, AK 99503

If you plan on testifying, please note that comments are limited to three minutes. Clickhere for details on the public hearing rules.

Here are some suggested talking points:

-- This proposal is premature; state regulators haven’t begun developing rules and the first licenses won’t be issued for a year.

-- Anchorage should instead consider reasonable local regulations, such as limiting the number of stores, hours of operation, and their locations.

-- Keeping marijuana sales underground enriches criminals and makes it impossible to control where, to whom, and when marijuana is sold.

-- Legal marijuana businesses create local jobs and generate tax revenue.

Please sign up on Facebook if you are attending, and remember to be polite and concise. Then share this email with others in Anchorage so they can speak out, too!

Sincerely,



Tim Hinterberger
ChairmanCampaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol

Just read this on ADN. God I hope the band doesnt get passed. I'm gonna try real hard to get down to the assembly tomorrow. How many of you guys are going?

Residents will get a chance to testify Tuesday on whether the Anchorage Assembly should vote to ban commercial marijuana facilities in Alaska’s largest city.



The ordinance, introduced by Eagle River Assembly member Amy Demboski, has caused supporters and opponents of the initiative, just weeks past the election, to regroup around the measure.





Demboski’s ordinance, if approved by the Assembly, would allow the city to accept the “opt out” provision of Ballot Measure 2, the initiative legalizing recreational marijuana in Alaska.



Demboski has said she would like to see the city take a “wait and see” approach to the rule-making process. In an interview last month, she said the municipality should take its time and watch what comes out of the Legislature and the nine-month marijuana rule-making process that will begin in February, when the initiative goes into effect.



Anchorage appears to be the first community to consider the opt-out provision of the initiative. At least one assembly member on the Kenai Peninsula has indicatedhe plans to introduce legislation that would ban commercial grow operations in the Kenai Peninsula Borough, while in Fairbanks, leaders came to no conclusions on how they might regulate the substance until after the rule-making process concludes.



For many who supported Ballot Measure 2, the “wait and see” approach seems like too much, too soon.



“When you have a community supporting the initiative and then just a week or two later you have a single Assembly member asking (to) ban it without doing any work beforehand, that sets off alarm bells, particularly in Anchorage,” said Taylor Bickford, spokesman with the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol in Alaska, referencing the fierce debate over AO 37, an ordinance rewriting Anchorage’s labor laws.



The campaign has worked to get people to the meeting Tuesday, starting a Facebook event with 86 confirmed guests, creating a form from which people can email Assembly members directly and sending out a mass email from initiative co-sponsor Tim Hinterberger.



Hinterberger, who advocated for the measure throughout the campaign, expressed frustration with the Assembly’s move Thursday.



“We hope to remind people (that) why we’re doing this kind of stuff is to take it out of the hands of criminals, and now the Assembly is stepping in to try to prevent this,” he said.



Bickford noted that if the ordinance passes, the campaign would work toward supporting the industry in outlying areas, specifically the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, in an effort to begin to stifle the black market.

http://www.adn.com/article/20141216/assembly-kills-proposal-ban-marijuana-sales-anchorage

ban didn't pass

Looks like the delivery services are already popping up, this one has been operating in the Valley for almost 2 months and nobody has said a word

https://weedmaps.com/dispensaries/discreet-deliveries

Legal in AK said:

Looks like the delivery services are already popping up, this one has been operating in the Valley for almost 2 months and nobody has said a word

https://weedmaps.com/dispensaries/discreet-deliveries

Click to expand...

Hats off to this next generation of Valley pioneers!

I wish them the best as they plow ahead, cutting a path through terrain that's lay fallow since prohibition! I do hope they have their shit together, many will soon follow in their footsteps

From their "about" page:



"We are currently gearing up to get "Legal" whenever the legislators figure out how that will take place. We are forced to use BitCoin and Cash as the only ways of accepting payment right now do to current banking issues. We intend to be compliant with all State and Borough regulations and eventually Federal if they ever choose to end Prohibition on their end. We will hold sales tax and deliver upon request to the specific agencies that allow us to pay said taxes. We anticipate 25%.

Technically we are acting rouge while this transition from Prohibition takes place, but look forward to being legal soon. Thanks. "

Happy Holidays y'all!

The Green Rush Begins
DECEMBER 24, 2014 - 15:03
BY: DAVID HOLTHOUSE
http://www.anchoragepress.com/cover/1072/green-rush-begins

Advertised online as “the first cannabis delivery service to come to Alaska,” Discreet Deliveries is open for business, and flagrantly illegal.

The Wasilla-based start-up offers fast, free delivery of cannabis “smokeables” and “edibles,” anywhere in Anchorage, Eagle River, or the Mat-Su Valley.

Its extensive menu includes finely cured buds of Zero Dark Thirty, a hybrid strain of cannabis that’s high in both psychoactive and medicinal compounds, for prices ranging from $60 for one-eighth of an ounce to $320 for a full ounce. In the edibles category, Jolly Lollis are four for $28 (“one lolly, one serving”), Cannabis Carrot Cake Cookies are two for $20, and, for connoisseurs with classic taste, Baked Brownies are $20 each.

Customers place orders online or via phone. Payment is cash or BitCoin only. The business advertises on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google plus, and national cannabis delivery websites like Weedmaps.com.

Discreet Deliveries owner Rocky Burns, a former real estate agent, told the Press he began advertising and delivering cannabis products on November 10—six days after Alaska voters approved a ballot measure to not only legalize the cultivation and possession of cannabis for recreational use, but also to create a state-run system to legalize, regulate and tax commercial sales of cannabis to adults over the age of 21.

However, the measure does not officially become law until February 24. And state regulations for commercial marijuana businesses will not be established until next September at the earliest. Which means that, at least for now, Burns is operating in blatant violation of the law.

“Technically, we are acting rogue while this transition from prohibition takes place, but we look forward to being legal soon,” Burns said. “I believe most law enforcement wanted this law repealed anyway, and as long as I am going along with what their concerns are, and what the [legalization] initiative says, we have no beef. We do not work with any drug cartels. We only use Alaskan Grown products, so no borders are crossed. We ID everyone and never sell to anyone under 21.”

Burns said that he is holding in reserve 25 percent of all sales in anticipation of paying that much in tax when state lawmakers enact regulations for marijuana businesses in Alaska in late 2015. “Until then, I will deliver on request that amount to any specific agencies that allow us to pay said taxes,” he said.

The self-described “hub of the cannabis industry in Alaska” said he’s relying on the clear intention of a majority of Alaskan voters to shield him from arrest and prosecution. “I’m counting on there not being 12 Alaskans that would find me guilty of picking up vegetables at a grower’s house and dropping them off at someone else’s house and getting paid for that service, as long as I go along with the initiative that was passed by the people.”



ADVERTISEMENT

Discreet Deliveries isn’t the only cannabis business to begin openly advertising and selling products or services before legalization is implemented. Last month, the Alaska Cannabis Club, billed as “Alaska’s 1st Legal Marijuana Resource,” began selling memberships for $30. Membership entitles access to the club, where cannabis is available to smoke for no additional charge. The club also in recent weeks hosted a party with a $20 entrance fee, with attendants encouraged to bring their own cannabis, as well as alcohol, to consume on the premises. The club is located in the building that formerly housed the Kodiak Bar and Grill on Fifth Avenue. It does not have a liquor license.

Alaska Cannabis Club founder and owner Charlo Greene was recently described in a VICE Media documentary as “one of the most recognizable and brazen marijuana activists and businesspeople in the country.” Greene claims that her business model is legitimate because the building, which she began leasing in November, is now her private residence, despite its being in a section of downtown that is not zoned for residential use without a special exception, which she has not obtained.

“The Alaska Cannabis ClubHouse does not serve liquor or illegally sell marijuana,” reads a statement online.

“Club Members are welcome to consume the FREE WEED present INSIDE of the ClubHouse and are also welcome to BYOB (booze and bud). The Alaska Cannabis ClubHouse is technically housed inside the private residence of Charlo Greene and the activities that take place in Charlo’s private residence are protected by Alaska’s constitutional privacy laws.”

Greene declined to answer questions about the Alaska Cannabis Club for this article.

Many fellow cannabis activists and entrepreneurs are questioning the judgment of start-up operators like Burns and Greene at such a crucial time of transition. The fledgling cannabis industry in Alaska is under intense scrutiny from the general public as well as local and state officials, and full-scale legalization is not yet a reality, let alone a sure bet. In December, Governor Bill Walker proposed extending the deadline for state lawmakers to enact cannabis industry regulations beyond next September, and the Anchorage Assembly considered but then voted down a proposal to ban legal cannabis sales in Anchorage in spite of statewide legalization.

“I would advise new cannabis entrepreneurs not to jeopardize their brand just to be first,” said Cory Wray, director of the Alaska Cannabis Institute, a trade group that emphasizes responsible business practices. “I understand that many entrepreneurs want to be first. But nobody remembers the first business that went out of business, so prepare for longevity by doing things the right way. Inherently, a lot of cannabis businesses are going to be operating in the gray area. Some might even be taking advantage of loopholes in the system. But there are a lot of cannabis entrepreneurs in Alaska doing things the right way. We just don't hear about these businesses right now.”

Burns, the Discreet Deliveries owner, agreed to be quoted in this article on the condition that the following statement directed to law enforcement authorities be included: “Please do not use any tax money to make a sting to catch me. If I am contacted, I will report to any station that asks and give a signed statement to what I am doing.”

He said that business was slow at first, but has been picking up as word spreads online. “Some people still think I’m the police, however silly that is,” he said. “This would be the worst sting operation setup in history.”

elkamino said:

Just read in yesterday's ADN that the ballot language has been certified and we're legal Feb 24.

I want Alaska's program to be as efficient, practical and safe as possible. Does anyone know of organizations working to steer this thing in the right direction? I've got some time and motivation to work on this thing.

Unfortunately there's a fly in the ointment.

Again in ADN, Eagle River Assembly member and mayoral candidate Amy Demboski "plans to introduce an ordinance Tuesday that, if passed, would ban commercial marijuana establishments in Alaska’s largest city." Yes less than a month after the election she's trying to undermine the will of the voters.

She apparently is trying to save us from ourselves and will undoubtedly argue that we didn't know what we were voting for, what with concentrates and all (as if uber potent hash hasn't been smoked since... um... forever.)

On the other hand perhaps she's thinking that Mat-Su should see all tax revenues generated in the newly-legal but already well-established industry.

Or maybe she's afraid of Satan, and the god-given Devil Weed.

Or maybe she averse to capitalism, and just can't stand to see Alaskan businessmen and women grow useful, beautiful flowers locally.

Regardless of her reasoning she's full of horseshit and her fellow assemblymates need to hear from those of us with something useful to say. I've never been very active politically and am not really sure how it all works, but I believe the first time to have our voices heard locally is here:

Regular Assembly Meeting
FROM 5:00 PM TO 11:00 PM
Z.J. Loussac Library
Assembly Chambers
3600 Denali Street

I also heard of a "public meeting" before that on this issue but can't track that down...

Really though, I'd like to get beyond Dembowski's Mother Hen-ing here at the local level, and instead get to focusing on state-level implementation. Like get regulators to adopt something more like CO's model, and less like WA's.

Thoughts? Opinions? Anyone know where I can get more info on affecting the rule-making process? Thanks.

Click to expand...

Nope it's a ghost rider yet fag walker says no divi and that happens same year less then 4 months yet weed bill still hanging in the air