Alaska marijuana entrepreneurs who want to specialize in infused products or extracts will have to get a license to operate in Anchorage, the state’s largest city and likely its biggest cannabis market.
Wary of independent operators who may not know what they’re doing, Anchorage city officials have decided to restrict the manufacture of cannabis concentrates to only those with government licenses.
The new ordinance prohibits unlicensed individuals from using flammable solvents such as butane, in an attempt to prevent the type of accidental explosions that have proliferated in other states. The measure makes producing marijuana concentrates or hash oil via flammable solvents or an extraction process “using a substance other than vegetable glycerin” a class A misdemeanor.
The move had the backing of the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol in Alaska, which was responsible for the passage of Ballot Measure 2 last November, the initiative that legalized rec sales in the state.
