Marijuana industry advocates are crying foul about a residency clause in Alaska’s draft marijuana regulations that would require all business owners and investors to be Alaska residents.
With the deadline for crafting Alaska marijuana regulations just three months away, the Marijuana Control Board must decide whether the requirement — which board member Brandon Emmett said “basically crushes the American dream” — is the best choice for a fledgling market teeming with risk.
Current draft rules read like this: Anyone who wants a marijuana business license, whether an individual, partnership, limited liability company or corporation, must be an Alaska resident. That includes every corporate shareholder and partner. Only a licensee may have a “direct or indirect financial interest,” and all licensees must be Alaska residents.
Marijuana industry attorney Jana Weltzin called the Alaska residency proposal a bad idea that creates a barrier to entry in a market already shut off from bank loans.
“Let’s be honest: It’s not that tricky to get around these regs. It’s really not,” Weltzin said, adding those willing to invest in a business based on loopholes are likely to be the very kinds of people the state is trying to dissuade from entering the market.
