Anchorage cannabis rep fills AK regulatory board vacancy

The chair of the Anchorage Cannabis Business Association is joining Alaska’s Marijuana Control Board, filling a four-week-old vacancy and bringing a second industry representative to the regulatory body.

Nick Miller, who plans to open a recreational store in Anchorage, was appointed by Governor Bill Walker, according to the Alaska Journal. Walker fired Miller’s predecessor, former board chairman Bruce Schulte, on July 29.

Schulte, after he was removed, accused Walker and his administration of deliberately trying to sabotage the state’s unfolding recreational marijuana program. State officials have begun issuing cultivation, processing and laboratory licenses, and plan to start awarding retail licenses in September.

Miller is the second industry representative on the five-member board. The other is Brandon Emmett, who represents the Alaska Marijuana Industry Association. Emmett has applied for a marijuana production license in Fairbanks.

State law requires that the Marijuana Control Board be comprised of: one person from the public-safety sector; one person from the public health sector; one person living in a rural area; one person actively engaged in the marijuana industry; and one person who is either from the general public or actively engaged in the marijuana industry.