Alaska marijuana board rejects onsite use at retail shops

[CaseyJones]

http://www.thecannabist.co/2017/02/02/alaska-marijuana-onsite-consumption/72905/

Swing vote cites fear of how the Trump administration will approach marijuana


Marijuana regulators in Alaska on Thursday narrowly rejected a proposal that would have made the state the first in the nation to allow marijuana consumers to use the pot that they buy at the retail stores selling it.

In a 3-2 vote, the Alaska Marijuana Control board decided not to allow it — prompting criticism from retailers who vowed to continue to press for some sort of allowable marijuana use at their stores.

The proposed new rules would have let people buy marijuana products in authorized stores and go into separate store areas to partake.

Board member Mark Springer, among those who voted to reject the measure, said he was worried how the new administration of President Donald Trump might view marijuana use at retail stores in Alaska.

It remains illegal at the federal level but has also been legalized in 7 other U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

Another board member, Loren Jones, said he voted against the proposal after receiving many negative comments from the public.

The Alaska Marijuana Industry Association representing the state’s new pot sector will continue to lobby for some way to allow marijuana consumers to use pot at the stores, said Cary Carrigan, the group’s executive director

He predicted pandemonium could happen during Alaska’s upcoming summer tourism season, the first when legal pot shops will be open in Alaska.

Industry players have previously said tourists, especially cruise ship passengers, will not have any legal place they can smoke marijuana after buying it because the legalization law only allows pot to be smoked on private property. Marijuana is off-limits on cruise ships.

They have said it would be better to allow Alaska tourists to smoke marijuana in the stores because prohibition will prompt users to smoke smoke in public places such as streets, parks and trails.

More than 2 million tourists visited Alaska last year, and just over half arrived on cruise ships.

A study conducted for the state estimated tourists from the 2014-15 season spent $1.9 billion in Alaska, mostly during the summer months.

Critics have said tourists will not come to Alaska only for its legal marijuana because other states have also legalized recreational pot.

The board’s rejection of the measure came after Sara Chambers, the acting director of Alaska’s Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office, told board members the public notice for the onsite consumption proposal was improperly done.

The board then had the options of re-advertising the measure for another 30 days or deciding not to advance it, and they approved the latter option.

[tod evans]

Sad thing that politicians and "Just-Us" dept. employees make more money off of weed than the people who grow it....

[Jan2017]

So no Amsterdam-style smoke lounges . . . Colorado had (at least) one a couple years back, but that Boulder retail establishment was closed down after 36 hours.

[CaseyJones]

So no Amsterdam-style smoke lounges . . . Colorado had (at least) one a couple years back, but that Boulder retail establishment was closed down after 36 hours.

Marijuana Use In Colorado 2016: Denver Now Allows Pot Use In Bars And Restaurants After Voters Approve Initiative 300

http://www.ibtimes.com/marijuana-use-colorado-2016-denver-now-allows-pot-use-bars-restaurants-after-voters-2446655


Marijuana enthusiasts in Denver will now be able to smoke their pot at various locations outside of their homes following the passing of a social marijuana measure that was on the ballot on election day. Initiative 300, the ballot measure that allows adults 21 and up to legally use cannabis flower, edibles or concentrates at bars, restaurants, cafes and other approved businesses passed narrowly into legislation on Tuesday, according to reports.

Under the new initiative, users would be allowed to smoke cannabis in designated smoking areas outside of establishments but not indoors.

The bill passed with 53.3 percent of the vote, though there are reportedly still anywhere between 10,000 to 12,000 mail-in and in-person votes that still need to be counted.

The measure’s approval will launch a four-year pilot program, giving businesses permission to let customers use marijuana on their premises under city-issued “consumption area” permits. Businesses must be backed by a single local neighborhood or business group to obtain permits.

Marijuana social clubs already exist in Denver, but they can be difficult to have access to and hard for tourists to find in the city, and many of them were operating illegally before the law passed. For the most part, only Coloradans are technically allowed to use legal marijuana in a private residence or at private events. Under Initiative 300, more people – whether it be tourists or residents who live in places that don’t allow marijuana – will have access to safe zones to use marijuana, which proponents say was the biggest reason for the measure.

Before Denver, San Francisco was the only city that allowed marijuana use in medical dispensaries and social clubs that permitted on-site smoking. However, patients had to apply for smoking permits to use marijuana on grounds.

Denver authorities begin permitting process for cannabis consumption venues

https://fsrn.org/2017/01/denver-authorities-begin-permitting-process-for-cannabis-consumption-venues/


In 2000, Colorado became one of the first states to legalize medical marijuana. Then in 2012 recreational pot was legalized. And now business owners in Denver, like Jim Norris of Mutiny Information Cafe, are starting to apply for permits that for the first time in history will allow marijuana consumption in public places.

“I want do a once a month night here, Saturday night. We’ll have comedy, a dance party, DJ’s, that kind of stuff,” Norris says. “It’ll be laid back and cool, 21 and over, I’ll have security. I’ll follow whatever the rules are that the city wants us to do.”

Initiative 300, passed by Denver voters in 2016, could make Norris’ plans a reality by late this year when the city begins issuing permits.

In the meantime, a diverse committee will craft strict permit rules. One of the toughest requirements already written into the initiative makes it necessary for permit holders to get approval from surrounding neighborhood groups.

“Under Initiative 300, adults would be able to vaporize or be able to use other non-smokable forms of marijuana inside and they would be able to smoke marijuana in places where smoking is already currently allowed, but only if it’s not viewable to the public,” explains Mason Tvert, Director of Communications for the Marijuana Policy Project.

Tvert played a significant role in the passage Amendment 64 that legalized recreational marijuana in Colorado. He also backed I 300 saying the initiative will bring Colorado one step closer to realizing Amendment 64’s ultimate goal.

“When voters approved Amendment 64 in 2012, they said ‘we want marijuana to be treated similarly to alcohol’ and that has not happened yet when it comes to places where adults can consume,” says Tvert.

Although I 300 will give the public a place to consume cannabis similar to a bar, patrons will need to bring their own marijuana. And it will be illegal to consume alcohol and pot at the same establishment.

Back at Mutiny, co-owner Jim Norris says he’s glad the rules are strict and that the city plans to take it’s time formulating even more rigorous standards for the public marijuana consumption permits.

“I think it should be really involved,” Norris says. “You know, we’re starting something really big here – really, really big. This is democracy in action. We voted for it, the city and state have to come up with a way to make it happen.”

Norris is confident Mutiny Information Cafe will rapidly meet permit requirements. What is less certain is if the federal government will continue to take a hands-off approach in cities and states where marijuana rules passed through ballot initiatives clash with federal drug laws.

[Jan2017]

Some state - Nevada ? - will pick up on the idea of "Amsterdam-style" cannabis cafes - not really how Colorado's will work
in most (all ?) places. There are still counties and municipalities that local ordinances do not allow retail adult use dispensaries still, of course.

Bars can’t seek new Denver social marijuana use permits allowed by Initiative 300, state says

New regulations include rule barring liquor licensees from allowing marijuana consumption on premises



State licensing officials delivered a blow Friday to Denver’s voter-passed Initiative 300 by announcing
a new rule that will keep bars and many restaurants from applying for new social marijuana use permits.

The new regulation starting Jan. 1 will make clear that liquor licensees cannot allow the consumption of marijuana on their premises.
It greatly expands the types of businesses that likely will be disqualified from applying for the new permits for on-site marijuana consumption areas
when the city makes applications available in late January, as required by Initiative 300.

Initiative 300, which Denver voters passed in the Nov. 8 election, calls for the creation of a four-year pilot program
that allows most businesses, including cafes and even yoga studios, to seek permits for separate cannabis consumption areas indoors or outdoors.

Patrons must bring their own marijuana.http://www.denverpost.com/2016/11/18/bars-cant-seek-new-denver-social-marijuana-use-permits-allowed-by-initiative-300/

[CaseyJones]

ya I could see Nevada allowing use in casinos so you forget how much you're spending :p

[CaseyJones]

Nevada Legalizes Marijuana, But The Casinos Are Not Feeling It

https://www.casino.org/news/nevada-votes-legalizes-recreational-marijuana


Nevada’s voters, along with those of California and Massachusetts, opted yesterday to legalize recreational marijuana.

But Las Vegas’ casinos aren’t high on the idea, especially Las Vegas Sands chairman Sheldon Adelson.

Medical marijuana was first legalized in Nevada in 2000, but in 2013 the state passed a bill that would actually allow businesses to dispense it.

The new initiative goes one step further, calling for the legalization of recreational use of cannabis by adults 21 and over, provided they are in possession of one ounce or less of the drug.

It will likely pave the way for new laws permitting the establishment of recreational marijuana stores and public spaces where people can smoke publicly.

For Sin City, it would seem like the perfect fit, and it may even draw more millennials into town to play on those new skill-gaming machines that casinos will soon roll out.

When Colorado legalized marijuana, for example, tourism to Denver alone increased by one million people. So why did the casinos oppose “Question 2” on yesterday’s Nevada ballot?

Pot Control

Well, the problem is, although legal at state level, marijuana possession is still a federal felony, and, as far as the Nevada Gaming Control Board is concerned, this is all that matters. The regulator has ruled that none of its license holders should have anything to do with the state’s legalization of the marijuana trade.

Thus, casino operators do not want people wandering around their properties believing it is their God-given right to spark up a fat doobie anywhere they please. And meanwhile, the more time people spend baked off their butts watching Adventure Time and eating Cheetos, the less time they spend gambling.

It also presents casinos with a potentially huge headache. Federal anti-money laundering directives make it illegal for casinos to profit from the sale of drugs.

That means that as long as state laws and federal laws don’t match up on marijuana, they are unable to accept money from anyone involved in the medical or recreational marijuana industry, whether it’s legal in the state or not.

Adelson’s Millions

Should a casino knowingly accept a bet from a person working in the medical marijuana industry, they could face prosecution. Does this mean they will be required to perform a series of time-consuming, expensive, and frankly unrealistic background checks on every customer who walks in?

Meanwhile, Adelson has personal reasons as well as practical ones for his opposition to marijuana legislation all over the United States. In 2005, the casino mogul’s son, Mitchell, died of a drug overdose and it’s believed that he sees cannabis as a gateway to more dangerous narcotics.

Adelson has donated millions of dollars this year to the battle to halt marijuana legislation across the US, but it looks like, in his home state at least, all that money just went up in smoke.

[timosman]

Imagine people being around other people while being high. What kind of conversations would take place without BS filter in place. We can not allow this to happen.:cool:

[TheCount]

Retarded. All this accomplishes is forcing the business owner to have two 'separate' businesses side by side.

[Suzanimal]

Retarded. All this accomplishes is forcing the business owner to have two 'separate' businesses side by side.

Kind of like a bar and a liquor store?

[pcosmar]

Kind of like a bar and a liquor store?

Even more ridiculous than that. More like a Bar and restaurant having to be separate.

Just more of the same Redundancy in Governmental Stupidity.

[TheCount]

Kind of like a bar and a liquor store?More like a bar and a strip club in those states where strip clubs can't sell drinks or food.

[devil21]

More like a bar and a strip club in those states where strip clubs can't sell drinks or food.

More business license fees collected, more building permit fees collected, more filling of empty commercial space, more money for lawyers to set up additional business entities that otherwise wouldn't be needed, tax types charge more to do separate business taxes, etc. I don't think the local and state governments would mind. More payouts to them.