Five commercial marijuana licenses are now in various stages of the application process for operating within the Haines Borough.
Resident Shawn McNamara, doing business as Alaska Mountain Growers, applied for licenses for marijuana retail and cultivation.
The address listed for the Alaska Mountain Growers cultivation facility is 1 Letnikof Drive and the retail location is listed as 41 Haines Highway, a location between the Quick Shop and the post office.
McNamara declined additional comment.
Resident Erika Merklin applied for a “limited” marijuana cultivation facility license doing business as Resurrected Dreams, defined as a cultivation space less than 500 square feet. The address for the location is HC 60 Box 2618.
Longtime resident Carol Waldo applied for Haines’ first marijuana cultivation license in April and a retail license in early May.
Using the business name Glacier Bay Farms, Waldo’s cultivation business location is at 17 Helms Loop Spur and her retail store would be located at 75 Beach Road. Due to a clerical error, Waldo must resubmit her legal notice for the retail store. The original notice listed the address at 77 Beach Road.
The assembly must approve licenses before the state signs off on them.
According to state regulation, local marijuana rules cannot be less restrictive than state law, but they may be more restrictive.
Current state law bans marijuana establishments within 500 feet of a school, youth or recreation center, correctional facility or building where religious services are held.
Municipalities also have the option to ban the sale, manufacture, cultivation and testing of marijuana. The borough assembly also may limit the number of marijuana license types within the borough.
The Haines Chamber of Commerce formed a marijuana task force last year which determined, “…the state’s treatment of the issue is comprehensive and will serve the Haines Borough for the immediate future. We do not foresee the regulations allowing a robust industry requiring further regulation,” task force member Thom Ely wrote to Mayor Jan Hill and the borough assembly.
The assembly will meet next month to discuss the pending permit requests, following postponement of a meeting previously set for June 12.
The assembly has discussed the possibility of taxing marijuana, along with alcohol and tobacco, to increase revenues.
Haines residents have 30 days from June 8 to comment on McNamara’s license applications before the borough considers them for approval. The state marijuana control board must give final approval.
Waldo has also declined to comment on her license applications and business venture until it reaches final approval.
In an April 28 letter to Hill, the Chamber wrote a letter of support for Waldo’s marijuana cultivation business.