Alaska licenses state-approved social cannabis consumption

Marijuana stores in Alaska will be among the first in the United States where state-sanctioned on-site consumption is permitted.

Alaska regulators approved licenses for the first retail stores where customers can smoke or consume marijuana products.

Some cities in other states have approved MJ consumption sites. For example, the City Council in Springfield, Illinois, recently approved a marijuana consumption establishment.

Alaska has the distinction of being the first state to approve social consumption sites, according to Chris Lindsey, director of government relations with the local chapter of Marijuana Policy Project.

The state’s Marijuana Control Board approved applications for on-site consumption venues in Fairbanks and the Ketchikan Gateway Borough.

Alaska’s rules for on-site consumption took effect in 2019, after years of discussion.

– Associated Press