Struggling with the prospect of handling millions of dollars in cash from commercial marijuana businesses, Alaska's Department of Revenue is holding three brainstorming sessions to get ideas for how to handle the influx of taxes in an industry shut off from basic banking practices.

"It's an uncharted territory. ... We don't have any precedent to go off of, really," said Claire Lettow, regulations specialist for the state Tax Division.

Since marijuana remains illegal federally, Alaska's financial institutions so far aren't opening their doors to commercial businesses. That means, like other states that have legalized recreational marijuana, businesses will be dealing in cash. Potentially a lot of cash.

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Alaska cannabis businesses can sell you a hoodie, so long as the transaction is being recorded in high-definition.

The Alaska Marijuana Control Board covered allowable advertising strategies or retail dispensaries, as well as security protocol last week, on the second day of an extra meeting to consider draft regulations.

Board Director Cynthia Franklin argued Montana's greatest mistake was allowing too much advertising for medical marijuana. Montana legalized medicinal marijuana in 2004 only to have a ballot initiative introduced in 2014 to recriminalize it. This followed a ballooning industry that roused the ire of the state legislators and a 36 percent minority of the population who hadn't supported legal medicinal marijuana in the first place.

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Shawn, a chef (and expert punster), wonders whether Alaska cannabis regulators have considered his industry as they're setting the initial boundaries of the legal market.

"I would like to know how they plan to address edibles and establishments that sell them. Are they going to allow a restaurant or dinner club that is an adult atmosphere like a bar, 21 and over, to serve cannabis-infused foods?

I'm a chef and I think that we should have opportunity to stake our claim in this 'budding' marijuana industry."

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City and Borough of Juneau committees are currently deciding how to accommodate and encourage a new economic and commercial activity in Juneau - marijuana cultivation, processing and selling. We have seen in the Juneau Empire some references to the issue of sales, but not much attention to the other aspects of this activity.

I have read the minutes of the Aug. 21, 2015 meeting of the Planning Commission's Title 49 subcommittee; the referenced staff report is not currently available to the public.

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That's what was on the campaign signs said and that's what Alaskans voted for. The Anchorage Assembly is not respecting the voters' will with it's "open container" requirement that marijuana be carried outside the passenger compartment (in the trunk). Alcohol can be carried inside a car as long as the seal is not broken. This law assures that alcohol is not being used by the driver. Thus the term "open container." Open containers must be carried in the trunk or in a locked glove box. Too bad there isn't a way to tell if marijuana is being used by the driver. Oh wait, there is! Unburnt marijuana is marijuana that is not currently being used. The open container law should define burnt marijuana as an "open container" and treat it like alcohol. Burnt and unburnt marijuana have strong and vastly different smells making this an easy ordinance to enforce. An unlit joint or bag of weed should be treated like an unopened bottle.

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"AKEngineer" is hoping for clarity on a source of confusion he or she discovered in close readings of the proposed regulations that will eventually shape Alaska's legal cannabis industry:

The ballot initiative specifically made it legal to give up to an ounce of marijuana to someone over 21. The proposed new regulations (appear to contradict the law and) make it illegal to give any amount "to a consumer" without purchasing a $5,000 license and going through a bureaucratic mess. Do regulations trump the law passed by the citizens? Or, if I give a friend a joint, is he/she not a "consumer"?

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WASILLA -- Residents in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough cities of Palmer and Houston will get to vote in October on whether they want to make commercial cannabis operations illegal.

Alaskans approved Ballot Measure 2 last fall to legalize recreational marijuana use. Commercial operations will become legal statewide in May 2016, when permits for marijuana businesses are expected to be granted.

The overall vote in Mat-Su, widely viewed as Alaska's most productive marijuana-growing region, was narrowly against legalization. But voters in Palmer and Houston, as well as other unincorporated communities, actually favored it.

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Marijuana industry advocates are crying foul about a residency clause in Alaska's draft marijuana regulations that would require all business owners and investors to be Alaska residents.

With the deadline for crafting Alaska marijuana regulations just three months away, the Marijuana Control Board must decide whether the requirement -- which board member Brandon Emmett said "basically crushes the American dream" -- is the best choice for a fledgling market teeming with risk.

Current draft rules read like this: Anyone who wants a marijuana business license, whether an individual, partnership, limited liability company or corporation, must be an Alaska resident. That includes every corporate shareholder and partner. Only a licensee may have a "direct or indirect financial interest," and all licensees must be Alaska residents.

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Anchorage Assembly Extends Open-Container Laws to Pot

Anchorage drivers will soon be required to keep marijuana in the trunk of their cars, with the city Assembly voting Tuesday night to expand local alcohol beverage open-container laws to include marijuana.

The new open-container restrictions were among a set of marijuana-related ordinances unanimously adopted by the Assembly Tuesday night. The others covered the use of a fake ID or other fraudulent means to buy marijuana; the inclusion of marijuana in existing laws that prohibit minors from driving under the influence; and the further definition and restriction of the personal cultivation of marijuana.

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As Alaska's Marijuana Control Board continues accepting written comments on the legal system that is taking shape, Tristan wonders, "Will people with criminal records be allowed to participate in the cannabis industry?"

So far, the answer is yes, but that depends on what we mean by "participate," and what kind of criminal record we're talking about.

With the passage of House Bill 123 last session, which among other things created the MCB, the Alaska Legislature added a new paragraph to the initiative-created Alaska Statute 17.38.100, one that restricts people convicted of a felony within the past five years from being involved in a registered cannabis-related business.

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On Friday afternoon, a crowd gathered around a man struggling to sit upright outside Bean's Cafe in downtown Anchorage. Emergency responders, employees and clients of the soup kitchen circled around the man as he swayed unsteadily on a bench.

It was the second medical call related to the synthetic drug Spice at Bean's Cafe that day, client services supervisor Tracy Saakvitne said as she watched the scene unfold.

A few minutes later, an ambulance arrived. The man was led away, his body limp and his head rocked forward. Two responders flanked him, one on either side, and held him upright.

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In the Aug. 9 Alaska Dispatch News, we read "NYC sees surge in synthetic pot use, with dire consequences." Synthetic marijuana is a deadly yet legal substance that preys on ignorant populations, such as New York's homeless. "The cheap knock-off weed is spiked with unknown chemicals that are supposed to mimic the more mellow effects of pot," but has caused "a spike in emergency room visits in New York City (and Anchorage) by users suffering from high blood pressure, hallucinations, hot flashes and psychotic meltdowns that can turn violent or deadly." The cannabis coalition consensus is, unknown leaf sprayed with chemicals, ugh. What herb is the leaf? What are the chemicals? We don't know. We wouldn't smoke synthetic anything. Only an ignorant cannabis-deprived soul, desperate for relief from poverty and misery, would stoop so low as to try synthetic marijuana.

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Well, Alaska's Marijuana Control Board has released the third package of proposed regulations and held meetings in Anchorage on Monday and Tuesday. Regulators heard feedback and discussed the rules taking shape for Alaska's legal cannabis industry. Today, we'll look at a question related to some of those rules under development.

"Fishboy from Juneau" asks: "Will extracts like BHO (Butane Hash Oil) and shatter be available for us Alaskans? What do the laws look like surrounding concentrates?"

It appears at this point that, yes, concentrates like those will be available for Alaskans once the licenses to produce, test and sell them are granted. But some discussion remains before the final rules take shape, and no one's been licensed yet. As we've learned previously, home production of concentrates for personal use is restricted in several localities to non-solvent-based extraction methods that lack the potential for fire or explosion, so recreational consumers will have to wait for the legal availability of the sophisticated products Fishboy identifies.

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Is it just me, or does it seem that all bodies of state and local government have done everything they could to thwart the will of the people since the initiative to legalize pot was passed?

- - Andrew Smith

Anchorage

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Should Alaskans be the only ones allowed to invest in marijuana businesses? What distance should be mandated between a school and a marijuana establishment?

In downtown Anchorage Tuesday, the Marijuana Control Board grappled with these questions as it reviewed the second set of draft regulations, working through each article in turn, and often focusing on areas that had spurred the most public comment.

Tuesday's meeting was more subdued than the day before, when five businesses that had received cease-and-desist orders spoke out against any actions the state may take to shut them down. On Tuesday, markedly fewer people were in attendance, with around 20 audience members sitting through the meeting.

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The Marijuana Control Board on Monday laid out its most comprehensive set of draft regulations yet for Alaska's fledgling cannabis industry, including a proposal that would ban marijuana social clubs, even as owners of existing clubs spoke out against any actions by the state that would shutter their doors.

The newly created board is holding a two-day meeting at the Atwood Building in downtown Anchorage, and heard Monday morning from business owners who had been sent cease-and-desist letters by the state.

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"Chilly Willy" asks Highly Informed this week, "Will I be able to barter, or trade for service, my legally grown weed? Will there be a safe and legal way for me to trade my bud?"

Willy is asking about personal-use herb, not any grown by proxy for a medical card holder, and not any grown by licensed commercial growers after they're established. While strictly speaking, trading goods or services for personal-use cannabis is not allowed according to the state, some circumstances might make enforcement or regulation difficult.

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Anchorage police said Wednesday that at least 30 people were taken to the hospital over the past four days with serious health problems related to using Spice, an illegal designer drug.

In response to the recent increase in Spice-related hospitalizations, police released a statement Wednesday afternoon asking people to contact them with any information on the source of the synthetic drug banned by local laws and a state law.

Lisa Sauder, the executive director of Bean's Cafe, said Wednesday that a stream of ambulances responded throughout the day to the downtown soup kitchen that provides meals and social services for homeless people.

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This week, a reader asks a question getting to the heart of an issue that will eventually need resolution as Alaska's attempt to structure its legal cannabis industry goes forward.

Other states that have legalized pot have roads leading more or less from every pot store to every potential customer. But a great many Alaskans live off the road system. They rely on small planes for travel and on air cargo parcels for practically everything, from construction supplies to bulk grocery items, and even alcohol.

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Heroin is killing Alaskans at alarming rates, and unless we do something to address the problem now, it will only get worse. Heroin-related deaths in Alaska tripled between 2008 and 2013. In 2012, the rate of heroin overdose deaths was 42 percent higher than the national rate. Alaskans are no strangers to the heroin and opiate abuse crisis killing our friends, family and neighbors.

We read reports weekly of heroin seizures, ruined lives, overdose deaths and grieving families.

Recently, we read that heroin is taking an unprecedented toll on Alaska ("Public health officials find steep rise in Alaska heroin deaths, overdoses," ADN, July 14). The article highlighted findings of a new report by the Division of Public Health that every Alaska public official should read, entitled "Health Impacts of Heroin Use in Alaska."

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