Cannabis

Alaskan Cannabis Outfitters, a new cannabis retail store, is located right at Mile 168 Sterling Highway just before the road turns toward Baycrest Hill. The store opened on 4/20 — April 20, 2020 — in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

Homer area’s newest pot shop opens on 4/20

“The stars aligning for it to happen on 4/20 was the cherry on top.”

 

Good Buds store manager Brandon Mason, from left, and owners Charles Spalding and Jared Wallace mark the grand opening of the first retail cannabis store on the eastern Kenai Peninsula. Tekoa Wallace of Hawaii is also a part owner of the business. (Photo by Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)

Eastern peninsula welcomes retail cannabis

As of Saturday morning, the eastern Kenai Peninsula has a retail cannabis shop. Just a half hour after opening the doors, the employees of Good… Continue reading

 

In this December 2016 photo, cannabis plants grow in a standard cultivation space inside Croy’s Enterprises near Soldotna, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion file photo)

Manufacturing license for new Homer pot shop gets OK from council

A new cannabis operation in Homer is another step closer to having all the licensing it needs in order to open. 420 on Main, if… Continue reading

 

Dollynda Phelps discusses current issues in the cannabis industry with local business owners on Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2018, in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Cannabis industry meeting raises concerns over Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office

Editors note: This story was corrected to show that AMCO regulation 3 AAC 306.720(e) requires 40 days of video retention. Cannabis cultivators, retailers, consumers squeezed… Continue reading

Dollynda Phelps discusses current issues in the cannabis industry with local business owners on Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2018, in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai City Council prohibits marijuana cultivation facilities in residential zones

On Wednesday, the Kenai City Council unanimously prohibited marijuana cultivation facilities in residential zones. There were no public comments regarding the ordinance at Wednesday’s city… Continue reading

About 2 1/2 oz. of dried marijuana. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)

Wells Fargo forces cannabis lab closure

One of Alaska’s three marijuana testing labs has been shut down by Wells Fargo bank, leaving the state’s growers with only two options for state-mandated… Continue reading

About 2 1/2 oz. of dried marijuana. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire File)
This zoning map from the City of Homer website shows the districts in town where commercial marijuana is allowed and where it is not allowed currently. (Image courtesty City of Homer)

Council introduces ordinance that would allow marijuana sales on Homer Spit

Retail marijuana stores making their way to the Homer Spit is once again on the table at City Hall. In a tie vote broken by… Continue reading

This zoning map from the City of Homer website shows the districts in town where commercial marijuana is allowed and where it is not allowed currently. (Image courtesty City of Homer)

Soldotna OKs relaxed pot regulations

With a tie-breaking vote, Soldotna Mayor Nels Anderson gave retail marijuana businesses some wiggle room to set up shop in the small city. The contention… Continue reading

Starting a legal cannabis grow begins with ‘immaculate conception’ of plants

The recent denial of Alaska Loven It’s license to cultivate cannabis raises a question not often discussed in Alaska’s growing marijuana industry. How do legal… Continue reading

In this December 2016 photo, cannabis plants grow in a standard cultivation space inside Croy’s Enterprises near Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Local pot business expecting slight chill from federal change

The practicalities of running a state-legal business based on a nationally-illegal product have became more complicated in some respects but unchanged in others, after U.S.… Continue reading

In this December 2016 photo, cannabis plants grow in a standard cultivation space inside Croy’s Enterprises near Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)
Dylan Griffith (left) and Chase Griffith (right), co-owners of cannabis retailer and cultivator Permafrost Distributors, talk behind the counter at their Sterling Highway store on Sunday, Dec. 10, 2017 in Sterling, Alaska. The brothers opened their Nikiski limited cultivation operation in December 2016 and expanded to the Sterling retail store and cultivation operation in June 2017. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Post-vote, cannabis businesses bloom on peninsula

Every time brothers Chase and Dylan Griffith make a business decision, instead of shaking hands, they bump fists. It’s par for the course in their… Continue reading

Dylan Griffith (left) and Chase Griffith (right), co-owners of cannabis retailer and cultivator Permafrost Distributors, talk behind the counter at their Sterling Highway store on Sunday, Dec. 10, 2017 in Sterling, Alaska. The brothers opened their Nikiski limited cultivation operation in December 2016 and expanded to the Sterling retail store and cultivation operation in June 2017. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Marijuana board orders Fairbanks manufacturer to close

The Alaska Marijuana Control Board has given the death penalty to one of Alaska’s largest manufacturers of edible marijuana products. On Friday morning, the board… Continue reading

Central Kenai pot store permitted on second try

A strip mall location in central Kenai is both a blessing and a curse for the planned marijuana retailer East Rip, whose city permit was… Continue reading

Soldotna extends marijuana moratorium to February

Soldotna has a couple more months to figure out what the city’s rules and regulations in regards to marijuana will be. The moratorium on commercial… Continue reading

In this December 2016 photo, marijuana plants grow under heat lamps at marijuana cultivation facility Croy’s Enterprises near Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Soldotna works on marijuana regulations

The cannabis industry is coming to the city of Soldotna, but first, the rules and regulations need to be set, and this process starts in… Continue reading

In this December 2016 photo, marijuana plants grow under heat lamps at marijuana cultivation facility Croy’s Enterprises near Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

With defeat of Prop 1, cannabis industry breathes sigh of relief

Cannabis business owners and employees in the borough outside city limits have a weight off their shoulders on working and expanding their businesses with Kenai… Continue reading

Ann Fraser (left) and Steve Waldron (right), both of Kasilof) wave signs opposing Kenai Peninsula Borough Proposition 1 on the corner of Pollard Loop and the Sterling Highway on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017 in Kasilof, Alaska. Voters in Kasilof and the other unincorporated communities of the borough voted Tuesday on Proposition 1, which asked whether commercial cannabis operations should be legal in the borough ouside the city limits. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Borough ballot props fail

Cannabis businesses in the borough outside the cities can continue operations as usual with the failure of Kenai Peninsula Borough Proposition 1, according to Tuesday’s… Continue reading

Ann Fraser (left) and Steve Waldron (right), both of Kasilof) wave signs opposing Kenai Peninsula Borough Proposition 1 on the corner of Pollard Loop and the Sterling Highway on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017 in Kasilof, Alaska. Voters in Kasilof and the other unincorporated communities of the borough voted Tuesday on Proposition 1, which asked whether commercial cannabis operations should be legal in the borough ouside the city limits. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
Leif Abel, co-owner of standard cannabis cultivation facility Greatland Ganja and a former member of the Kenai Peninsula Borough’s Marijuana Task Force, advocates for voters to oppose Proposition 1 in the borough’s Oct. 3 municipal regular election during a debate with former assembly president Blaine Gilman on the topic hosted by the Central Peninsula League of Women Voters on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017 in Soldotna, Alaska. Proposition 1 would ban commercial cannabis operations in the borough outside city limits. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Fate of borough’s cannabis industry before voters

It’s down to the wire for Kenai Peninsula Borough voters outside the cities to decide whether they want to prohibit commercial cannabis operations. Proposition 1,… Continue reading

Leif Abel, co-owner of standard cannabis cultivation facility Greatland Ganja and a former member of the Kenai Peninsula Borough’s Marijuana Task Force, advocates for voters to oppose Proposition 1 in the borough’s Oct. 3 municipal regular election during a debate with former assembly president Blaine Gilman on the topic hosted by the Central Peninsula League of Women Voters on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017 in Soldotna, Alaska. Proposition 1 would ban commercial cannabis operations in the borough outside city limits. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
Dan Castimore answers a question during a forum for Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly candidates Wednesday at a joint meeting of the Kenai and Soldotna Chambers of Commerce on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017 in Soldotna, Alaska. Castimore is running for the District 1-Kalifornsky seat. (Photo by Will Morrow/Peninsula Clarion)

One challenges incumbent for District 1 assembly seat

Voters in the Kalifornsky Beach area and part of Ridgeway have two choices for their Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly representative on Oct. 3 — one… Continue reading

Dan Castimore answers a question during a forum for Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly candidates Wednesday at a joint meeting of the Kenai and Soldotna Chambers of Commerce on Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2017 in Soldotna, Alaska. Castimore is running for the District 1-Kalifornsky seat. (Photo by Will Morrow/Peninsula Clarion)
This map, taken from the Kenai Peninsula Borough’s parcel viewer, shades in green the property where Ron and Deniece Isaacs were denied a permit for their marijuana business in 2016, and shades in blue the recreational property containing the softball fields that created a 500 foot buffer, measured in a straight line from the property boundary, which excluded the Isaacs’ shop. The odd shape of the buffered property prompted an unsucessful attempt by council member Bob Molloy to loosen city restrictions on proposed marijuana businesses more than 200 feet and across a road from properties that trigger setbacks. (map by Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai Council rejects loosening marijuana setbacks

An effort to loosen city restrictions on where marijuana businesses can locate in Kenai — which critics say has pushed businesses from the town’s commercial… Continue reading

This map, taken from the Kenai Peninsula Borough’s parcel viewer, shades in green the property where Ron and Deniece Isaacs were denied a permit for their marijuana business in 2016, and shades in blue the recreational property containing the softball fields that created a 500 foot buffer, measured in a straight line from the property boundary, which excluded the Isaacs’ shop. The odd shape of the buffered property prompted an unsucessful attempt by council member Bob Molloy to loosen city restrictions on proposed marijuana businesses more than 200 feet and across a road from properties that trigger setbacks. (map by Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)