Pubdate: Wed, 10 Jun 2015
Source: Alaska Dispatch News (AK)
Copyright: 2015 Alaska Dispatch Publishing
Contact:  http://www.adn.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/18
Note: Anchorage Daily News until July '14
Author: Devin Kelly

ANCHORAGE ASSEMBLY VOTES TO INCLUDE MARIJUANA SMOKE IN TOBACCO BAN

The Anchorage Assembly voted late Tuesday night to include marijuana 
smoke under the city's ban on tobacco smoke.

Within 90 days, businesses and building owners will have to amend "No 
Smoking" signs to include a reference to marijuana smoke, according 
to the measure adopted Tuesday.

The city has already enacted a ban on public consumption, which 
defines a public place as "a place to which the public or a 
substantial group of persons has access" and includes streets, 
highways, sidewalks, alleys, transportation facilities and parks and 
playgrounds. Many of the facilities outlined in the "secondhand 
smoking" measure are already covered by the ban on public 
consumption, according to the measure, introduced by Assembly Chair 
Dick Traini.

The current local law on tobacco smoke also extends to bars, 
restaurants and private clubs. It excludes private clubs not licensed 
for the sale of alcoholic beverages and that are not places of employment.

Several people testified against the measure on behalf of Potluck 
Events, a local cannabis company. Much of the public testimony 
Tuesday night centered on a dispute between the company and its 
neighbors, which include a church and a foster care resource center, 
involving marijuana smoke and odors.

But after the meeting, one of the owners of Potluck Events, Theresa 
Collins, said the people working at Potluck Events are all 
part-owners, not employees. She said the measure wouldn't affect the 
business's operation.

In other business, the Assembly postponed a vote on a quasi-city 
agency's grant of $800,000 in public funds to a covered tennis court 
project at East Anchorage High School. Several Assembly members said 
they wanted more information about the finances and activities of the 
Anchorage Community Development Authority, after the authority's 
board approved the grant last month.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom