A marijuana trade show slated for mid-April in downtown Anchorage announced its cancellation on Wednesday, citing a letter sent out last week from Mayor Dan Sullivan's office prohibiting the possession, use or display of marijuana for any marijuana-related event in municipal facilities.

Municipal attorney Dennis Wheeler crafted the letter. Wheeler said that "the municipality at this time is not inclined to allow the use of marijuana in its facilities."

The letter, dated March 20, was sent to municipal facility property managers to provide guidance when approached with inquiries regarding marijuana-related events, Wheeler said.

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The question this week comes from Doug: "Hello, I'm a smoker considering a Section 8 voucher. I suppose its up to the individual landlord, though the Alaska housing authority could have some policy already in place. Any idea? Will I be allowed to possess, use or grow in Section 8 housing?"

The answer here is similar to the previous installment of Highly Informed that dealt with landlords, tenants and cannabis. On one hand - -- the hand that matters most -- nothing is different. Housing assistance rules still depend on federal definitions of illegal drugs. And it'll still be up to the landlord and tenant to agree on rules and make them clear in a lease, and then up to the tenant to abide by them and the landlord to enforce them. But on the other hand, there are interesting complications to think about that stem from the fresh dissonance between Alaska and federal law.

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WASILLA -- The "Smoothie Lady" can celebrate: Some of Alaska's strictest municipal regulations on marijuana got rolled back Monday night in light of concerns that they could violate state law.

The Wasilla City Council voted 4-2 to remove a local prohibition on cooking marijuana edibles -- which includes everything from cannabis butter to brownies to smoothies -- in a home kitchen within city limits.

The council also removed a 2-ounce limit on the amount of pot that can legally be carried in one vehicle, a prohibition more rigorous than the 1-ounce per person, six-plant limit in state law.

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JUNEAU (AP) - A Senate committee advanced legislation Monday that would update state laws related to marijuana crimes.

The Senate Finance Committee moved the bill after adopting a new version.

SB 30 would update state crimes now that certain recreational use and possession of marijuana is legal for adults 21 and older. It sets out the crimes for possession of larger amounts of marijuana, allows emergency responders under 21 to enter marijuana businesses, and prohibits delivery or transportation of marijuana for sale or barter.

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JUNEAU (AP) - The state is soliciting resumes for potential members of a new marijuana regulatory board, although lawmakers are still working on legislation to create such a board.

The House Labor and Commerce Committee heard an update Friday on the latest bill draft, which would create a five-member board that would share staff and resources with the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.

The voter initiative legalizing recreational marijuana directed the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board to write the regulations for a new marijuana industry. But the initiative also gave the Legislature the option of creating a new marijuana board to do that work. The governor introduced companion bills to create that board in the House and Senate last month.

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Anchorage police served a search warrant on the Alaska Cannabis Club's downtown clubhouse on Friday afternoon, taking boxes of evidence from the residence as club owner Charlo Greene watched.

Anchorage Police Department spokesperson Jennifer Castro told reporters on scene later Friday afternoon that police had received reports of illegal marijuana sales occurring at the clubhouse. No charges had been filed Friday, Castro said.

Police arrived about 1 p.m., Greene said. Greene, whose legal name is Charlene Egbe, is a former television news reporter who achieved national notoriety in September when she quit on-air after announcing she was the owner of the club.

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Our question today involves Anchorage Municipal Ordinance 8.35.350, section 1, which reads as follows:

It is unlawful for any person to manufacture a marijuana concentrate, hashish, or hash oil by use of solvents containing compressed flammable gases or through use of a solvent-based extraction method using a substance other than vegetable glycerin, unless the person is validly licensed and permitted in accordance with statute, regulation, or ordinance.

A reader going by the name "Heckuva Job, Brownie" wonders, "Does that mean no cold water hash or pot butter brownies, as both water and butter are not 'vegetable glycerins'? You HAVE to use a vegetable oil? Am I misunderstanding the terminology? Margarine brownies are OK; butter brownies are not?"

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PALMER -- The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly on Tuesday night unanimously voted down a bid to put commercial marijuana operations to a vote of Valley residents.

Borough Mayor Larry DeVilbiss wanted to ask residents outside the cities of Palmer, Wasilla and Houston if they supported retail stores, as well as testing, growing or manufacturing facilities.

Mat-Su voters in November narrowly voted against the initiative legalizing recreational marijuana use in Alaska, though residents in Palmer and other communities backed legalization. DeVilbiss said he just wanted to gauge residents' feelings on specific commercial operations in light of that vote.

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JUNEAU - The head of a House committee that has spent much of the session reviewing marijuana said an amendment pushed through by a Fairbanks senator to ban all marijuana concentrates in 2017 will not survive in her committee.

Anchorage Republican and House Judiciary chairwoman Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux said a controversial amendment authored by Sen. Pete Kelly isn't what Alaskans voted for when they passed Ballot Measure 2.

"I would not go in that direction," she said. "To me, it is very important to adhere to the will of the people, and the people didn't say 'Let's have concentrates for two years and then two years later we'll stop being able to use them.' That was not the initiative."

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After a rough initial outing and complete rewrite, the Alaska Legislature's attempt at setting state rules for marijuana legalization appears to have ground to a halt once more. Senate Bill 30 would rewrite state laws to reflect marijuana's legal status for personal possession and use following voter approval of Ballot Measure 2 in November 2014. But a controversial amendment by Fairbanks Sen. Pete Kelly has dimmed the prospect that a fix to conflicting state laws on legalization is imminent.

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The politicians in charge of implementing recently enacted Ballot Measure 2 are not supporting the will of the voters. Their constituents voted for this to become law. It seems some lawmakers are doing everything in their power to drastically change what voters approved. I see them intentionally trying to get this tied up in the court system until they have the opportunity in two years to repeal this law or drastically change it.

With a budget deficit looming, why would officials want to minimize much needed revenue that would come with this new industry? Seems to me the people are well-educated on this subject and the ones in charge of implementing this law are not. Slow down. Take the time to educate yourselves before jumping to the conclusion with morality-based decisions.

- - Garrett Steigleman

Palmer

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WASILLA -- The mayor of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough wants to put bans on commercial marijuana operations to a local vote, potentially opening a door to undo parts of Alaska's legalization law in the state's pot growing capital.

The proposed resolution goes before the Mat-Su Assembly on Tuesday night.

Borough Mayor Larry DeVilbiss is seeking Assembly approval of a resolution asking local voters if they support prohibitions on four sectors of commercial marijuana: retail stores, cultivation facilities, manufacturing facilities and testing facilities. If approved, the questions would be placed on the Oct. 6 ballot for borough residents outside the cities of Palmer, Wasilla and Houston.

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To the editor: We the people have voted. Marijuana is now a legal substance in the state of Alaska. So what is the big deal? Why are our lawmakers so afraid that this plant that has been around for centuries is finally something that can legally be bought, sold and used? I don't get it.

Everyone seems to be just fine with alcohol and cigarettes being sold everywhere, yes, even around daycare centers and schools. But marijuana seems to put all of the powers that be into some sort of tailspin. I believe they are afraid. Marijuana is much less scary than alcohol or cigarettes.

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The national group Marijuana Policy Project, the primary financial sponsor of Alaska's initiative to legalize recreational marijuana, continues to advocate in the Last Frontier as lawmakers attempt to draft marijuana legislation.

MPP intends "to defend the initiative from being attacked in the state legislature in 2015," according to the organization's 2015 Strategic Plan. To this end, the organization is providing both funding and legal support for the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol in Alaska.

MPP was the Campaign to Regulate's primary financial backer during the 2014 election, spending more than $800,000 in support of Ballot Measure 2. MPP also provided the majority of funding for Alaska's failed 2004 initiative.

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JUNEAU - The day after hearing scathing public testimony for changes it made to a marijuana crime bill, the Senate Finance Committee returned on Thursday to make more than a dozen tweaks to the bill.

The committee reviewed 18 amendments to Senate Bill 30, which aims to smooth out wrinkles between the now-on-the-books voter initiative that legalized marijuana and existing criminal laws, accepting all but one.

Sen. Anna MacKinnon, R-Eagle River, lead the meeting and opened it by saying the committee mostly listened the public.

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JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - The Senate Finance Committee on Thursday amended a bill that would update state laws following the legalization of recreational use of marijuana in Alaska.

Some of the amendments were technical in nature. Others addressed issues raised by state officials and the public in past hearings, including adjusting open container laws and limiting concentrate purchases by transaction, rather than by day.

Lawmakers also added a section that would give regulators some enforcement authority over marijuana businesses in response to a concern raised by Alcoholic Beverage Control Board Executive Director Cynthia Franklin.

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JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - The Senate Finance Committee has heard strong opposition to the latest version of a bill that would change criminal statutes related to marijuana.

Senate Finance took public testimony on the bill on Wednesday.

The bill is intended to change criminal statutes related to marijuana, and was first introduced in Senate Judiciary. The Senate Finance version makes marijuana a controlled substance with a "non-applicability" clause that legalizes certain activities.

Members of the public told the committee that when they voted for legalization of recreational marijuana in November, they expected the substance would no longer be on Alaska's controlled substance list.

Several people also opposed a provision that would limit daily sales of marijuana concentrates, citing concern over a database to track purchases.

Another hearing on the bill is planned for Thursday.

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Legislators on Wednesday heard public testimony about the newest version of a bill that deals with the criminal aspects of marijuana law in Alaska.

Introduced Monday in the Senate Finance Committee, the new version of SB 30 reinstates marijuana as a controlled substance. Among other changes to the bill, some crimes could be prosecuted as felonies, and an open container is broadly defined.

The bill had passed from the Senate Judiciary Committee, which drafted a bill that removed marijuana from the list of controlled substances.

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Last week, Highly Informed tackled the topic of public cannabis use in state parks, whether it is legal (it's not), and what the difficulties of enforcement might be.

As a follow up to that discussion, "Aces Fan" wonders:

Maybe I'm missing something, but I thought it was also illegal to drink in public and that happens a lot when people go camping/hiking/fishing in the state parks. How is marijuana any different? Are the park rangers etc. going to be ticketing people for marijuana and not alcohol?

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JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - A state official told Alaska lawmakers that the Division of Agriculture will have a role in overseeing the state's new marijuana industry.

Director Franci Havemeister told the Senate State Affairs Committee on Tuesday that the division is looking at whether marijuana growers will be able to access an agricultural revolving loan fund and state agricultural land sales. She said growers also may be subject to regulations about submitting farm conservation plans.

Havemeister said the division is working to determine whether the Alaska Grown label can be applied to marijuana. She said federal funds support the label.

Lawmakers also asked about some of the specifics of marijuana growing operations, and what oversight the division would provide. Havemeister said some of those details are still unknown.

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