Tim Hinterberger, chairman of Alaska’s Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, sent an email Aug. 19 to the group's constituents to sign a petition requesting that Gov. Bill Walker appoint an industry ally to the state’s Marijuana Control Board.
Hinterberger’s email comes after Bruce Schulte, who had been serving as the five-member board’s chairman, was unexpectedly removed by the Governor July 29, according to a KTOO article. Schulte was an active part of the 2014 ballot measure that legalized cannabis in the state.
“Now, Gov. Bill Walker must name another appointee to the five-member body that is charged with licensing and regulating marijuana businesses,” writes Hinterberger in his email. “His new appointee will likely determine whether the board chooses progress or delay, and whether it upholds or subverts the people’s marijuana law.”
Hinterberger also points out that the board’s current chairman, Peter Mlynarik, is collecting signatures to propose a ban on marijuana businesses in the Kenai Peninsula Borough. A “hostile appointment” could cause more delays.
“There’s a real danger that the board could end up being hostile to its mission — taking marijuana sales off the criminal market and regulating cannabis like alcohol,” according to the petition.
As of Aug. 19, the online petition had 23 signatures. To read and sign the petition, click here.
Photo is courtesy of Gov. Bill Walker's official Flickr feed.
