The police chief recently named to the board that regulates Alaska’s legal marijuana industry says the fight that has long been waged against pot in this country has been a “waste of time” and law enforcement resources.
Jeff Ankerfelt, who is police chief in the southeast Alaska city of Sitka, says he wants to contribute to the successful implementation of well thought-out industry regulations.
Ankerfelt was appointed to the Marijuana Control Board’s public safety seat, replacing Travis Welch, who only served for about two months.
Prior to Welch, Soldotna Police Chief Pete Mlynarik, (MLYN’-arh-ik) held the seat. He resigned in January after the U.S. Department of Justice shifted from a more lenient stance on marijuana enforcement.
Mlynarik said the department’s decision removed the underpinning on which Alaska’s industry is based.
