So, you’re visiting Alaska and wondering about weed.

As states all over the country have decriminalized and legalized recreational cannabis, these days Alaska’s rules and retailers are less outliers than they were even five years ago. These days, buying and consuming legal weed in the 49th state is not much different from places like Oregon or Massachusetts.

Whether you’re a cannabis connoisseur or just looking to sample a novel localofferingduring vacation, pot shops in Alaska are likely to have whatever you’re looking for. But you might pay a little bit more for it.

The basics

Alaska has long had permissive rules when it comes to cannabis, but following a 2014 ballot initiative, the state fully legalized recreational consumption for anyone 21 and older. That includes tourists, as long as you can provide a valid government ID. Cannabis is regulated more or less like alcohol, so if you’re wondering whether something is legal or not, ask yourself: “Would I get in trouble doing this with an open beer or spiked seltzer in my hand?”

The big caveat is that Alaska has almost no equivalent to bars or restaurants for pot. With the exception of one establishment in Fairbanks, Good Titrations (which bills itself as “one of the first on-site consumption cannabis cafés in the nation”), there are no “pot cafes” or easy commercial locations in which to light up.

This leaves visitors with relatively few places to legally consume. Most hotels and bars ban indoor smoking (of everything). There are ample outdoor smoking areas, and though it is not uncommon to detect the distinct odor of pot smells emanating from them, it is technically unlawful to consume cannabis there, even non-odiferous versions like edibles and vape pens (at least within the Municipality of Anchorage and several other jurisdictions). If you’re staying on private property like an Airbnb or lodge, check the rules or with your host. As with alcohol, it technically remains unlawful to consume in public parks and greenbelts.

This all gets especially confusing given that federally governed entities like planes, marine ferries and national parks within Alaska still have full prohibitions on cannabis.

Where to buy

Most cities and towns in Alaska have cannabis retail shops, and they are rarely hard to find. You can literally just Google it. The state has the highest number of retailers per capita of any in the union (take that, Oregon!). If you’re in population centers like Anchorage, Juneau or Fairbanks, you should have no problem finding a number of reputable, high-quality retailers, many of them right in the centers of downtown. Even smaller towns that tend to see lots of summer tourists and cruise-ship passengers have multiple, well-stocked businesses with a full range of products.

This is not the case in small, rural, primarily Indigenous communities, some of which have bans on cannabis commerce as they do with alcohol. While under Alaska statutes “a local government may not prohibit the personal use and possession of marijuana and marijuana products,” they do have something called local option laws, which allow a community to ban the importation and sale of them. Bigger hub communities like Nome and Bethel have pot shops, but almost none of the smaller villages in rural Alaska do. Currently, the state’s Marijuana Control Board does not have a list detailing individual communities’ local option laws for cannabis.

Shops abide by strict standards for IDing customers, so make sure you have your driver’s license or a state-issued ID handy when you enter. They also deal primarily in cash, though businesses will typically have an ATM on site for withdrawals.

Once inside, “budtenders” are there to help you find what you need, and they’re generally exceptionally well-versed in the attributes of the products on hand. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Staff, especially budtenders, are accustomed to helping customers find what they’re looking for, not dismiss or belittle people. If you are new to pot, don’t be afraid to ask questions.

Same as you would with a barista or bartender, always tip your budtender.

What to buy

Owing to a number of regulatory and financial factors, Alaska has a unique cannabis industry relative to other states that have legalized recreational use. Though there are some bigger players, the state’s cultivators, manufacturers and retailers are generally small and independently run. Although there’s been a degree of consolidation in the sector the last few years, we are overwhelmingly a “mom and pop”-type cannabis industry, without a ton of major corporate, heavily financed conglomeration that has dominated some states in the Lower 48.

The cannabis scene here is creative, collegialand comprehensive. You’ll find most of the same products you’d encounter in bigger, more sophisticated markets. The catch, though, is that the range of options, particularly for more cutting-edge and highly refined products, is narrower.

And a bit more costly. Everything is more expensive in Alaska, from energy costs to cultivation equipment to labor, and that’s reflected at the point of sale. Businesses work hard to keep costs low for consumers, but you’re still likely to find products a bit pricier than if you were buying them in Colorado or Washington, for example.

Bud flower remains the most popular product in retail shops across the state, with plenty of strains to choose from. Higher THC strains are the predominant offering at product counters. Some say this is because of users’ preferences, others say it has more to do with market incentives created by the state’s policy of collecting a flat tax on raw cannabis according to weight, not strength. Regardless, if you want lower-potency flower, you may have to work a little harder to find it.

There are lots of small and ambitious edible operations that have thrived in the last few years. Cookies and gummies, sure, but also highly local fare like THC-infused fireweed honey, cannabis ice cream and “strawberry moose milk,” which … does not actually come from a moose. It can be hit or miss wandering into a shop if you have a specific edible product in mind, so check menus online or look up an edible manufacturer’s website and see where they sell their products. Better to go in with an open mind than a shopping list, basically.

As far as more avant-garde concentrate products go, from disposable vapes to sugar wax to live rosin offerings, Alaska lags a little behind what’s happening in major markets. Again, it’s best to query a particular store or company in advance if you have a specific product you’re intent on purchasing; many of them put their menus up on their websites. Again, you can literally just Google it.

Whatever your level of interest in cannabis, spending a little cash while you’re visiting (even if it’s just on a shop T-shirt or hat) supports local businesses and chips in a bit of tax money to our state and local budgets, which are things to generally feel good about.

And lastly: Always, always tip your budtenders.