JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Alaska’s attorney general said Wednesday that marijuana social clubs are illegal, addressing what had been a hazy area following the state’s legalization of recreational cannabis.
The legal opinion does not apply to licensed retail marijuana shops, for which state regulators are considering rules allowing cannabis consumption. The first retail shop licenses have yet to be approved.
At issue are clubs that charge fees for patrons to use marijuana onsite or that otherwise provide access to a significant number of people to consume marijuana there. Those are illegal, according to the opinion by Attorney General Jahna Lindemuth. “Under Alaska law, a business cannot sell or provide marijuana or allow marijuana to be consumed on the premises unless it is licensed as a retail marijuana store by the Marijuana Control Board,” Lindemuth wrote.
