(KCAW Photo/Cameron Clark)

The City of Sitka is poised to permit on-site consumption in the community’s two cannabis retailers. On-site consumption has been legal for years under state law, but Sitka never adopted the policy. Now, retailers say they need private spaces to accommodate cruise ship passengers who have no other place they can legally use marijuana.

In 2019, five years after the legalization of marijuana in Alaska, the state’s Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office (AMCO) updated its regulations, allowing customers to smoke marijuana or consume edibles at retail stores in a designated area. But in order to allow on-site consumption, a store must apply for a special endorsement from AMCO. Since Sitka hasn’t adopted the state’s updated regulations, local marijuana sellers can’t apply for that endorsement. Owners of a local retail store applied for the zoning change, which was approved by the city’s planning commission in April. 

Planning and Community Development Director Amy Ainslie told the assembly there was a substantial demand for on-site marijuana consumption from people visiting Sitka. Tourists often don’t have a private place to use cannabis products after they purchase it, which can lead to unlawful public consumption. 

“This helps to provide a place, when someone doesn’t have a private residence, to go to use these products, and to prevent that public consumption and smoke or other things happening on parks or streets or sidewalks or beaches,” Ainslie said.

Ainslie said the ordinance would likely mean more economic opportunity for marijuana sellers, and more tax revenue for the city. But with it also come some risks.

“There are sometimes concerns about the potential for driving under the influence, and that is certainly a potential concern. This is somewhat mitigated by the daily serving limits that AMCO has in place,” Ainslie said. “The really strong protection that we have in Sitka,” she added, “is making all of these permits a conditional use, again, so they have to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.”

Assembly member Kevin Mosher said he would support the ordinance, especially considering how regulated the sites would be.

“I understand it’s, kind of, there is risk. But I think the point that Amy pointed out in the memo, and here, is that places that serve alcohol don’t have some of these protections, so this is actually more regulated than than the other establishments,” Mosher said.

No members of the public commented on the ordinance at the meeting. Assembly member Thor Christianson said logistical questions were posed at the planning commission meeting, but there was no opposition.

“It was remarkable,” Christianson said. “I think most people saw it as something that makes sense…the reason why it was not in our code in the first place is when the code first came out, it was not an option.”

Ultimately the ordinance passed on a 6-1 vote on first reading with Deputy Mayor Tim Pike opposed.