Alaska regulators approve first retail rec marijuana license

Alaska regulators have begun approving the first retail marijuana licenses under the state’s recreational cannabis law.

Frozen Budz, the first establishment, will be located in Fairbanks, the Associated Press reported. Frozen Budz’s co-owner, Destiny Neade, hopes to open her shop by about Oct. 1, assuming she can source enough marijuana from growers.

The Marijuana Control Board began approving cultivation and testing licenses in June, with the aim of getting growers and testing labs up and running before retailers, in the hopes of streamlining the industry’s rollout. Roughly 20 total retail licenses were up for review last week.

Neade is no longer sure how much money she and her husband have invested in their new venture; she said they stopped counting after they reached the $150,000 mark.