Robert Celt
New Member
A measure aimed at closing The Higher Calling cannabis club in Fairbanks has been postponed, with sponsor Councilman David Pruhs saying he wants to see how the Alaska Legislature handles marijuana clubs before the city takes action.
"I am not backing down," Pruhs said Tuesday, a day after the measure was first scheduled to appear before the Fairbanks City Council. "I am giving the people of this industry time to work with the state and rectify this one way or another.
"I don't believe in shutting down a business so soon when there might be a chance that this could become a legal activity," he said.
Ordinance No. 6002 aimed to make it a misdemeanor crime to operate a marijuana club. A civil fine of $1,000 a day was attached to the legislation, which was set to be introduced on Monday but was then postponed until June 6.
About a dozen supporters of The Higher Calling attended the council meeting, testifying in favor of the club, which opened in November at 310 First Ave. Pruhs said one person testified against the club.
Members must be 21 and pay $10 per day or $30 per month to bring their own pot to consume at the facility, a former wine bar. The clubs operates from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 2 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday.
Marcus Mooers, owner of The Higher Calling, said in a text message that he thinks letting the state address the issue is the right call.
"While this does not finally resolve the matter, we appreciate being given the opportunity to show that cannabis clubs can be good for downtown and for the community," Mooers said. "We hope that the city will reach out to the state Legislature in support of consumption venues and the cannabis industry."
The issue of cannabis clubs has been difficult for the state to hash out. The voter-approved law decriminalizing pot says nothing about marijuana clubs. Nor do state regulations adopted late last year by the Alaska Marijuana Control Board, though the board did allow for marijuana retail stores to have a consumption room as an add-on.
The control board heard a legal opinion on cannabis clubs last year from an attorney with the Department of Law, Harriet Dinegar Milks. She told the panel that the board lacks the authority to add a new category of licensed marijuana facility.
The ballot measure, which is now law, decriminalizing pot only listed four categories of licensed facilities: cultivating, testing, manufacturing and retail.
"The board can't just say, "We want to add to what the law says,'" Dinegar Milks said.
A Fairbanks attorney who litigated personal use of marijuana and won in a case before the Alaska Court of Appeals in 2003 said he thinks the pot club is legal. The attorney, Bill Satterberg, said that, while decriminalized pot is new territory for Alaska, nothing about the cannabis club appears illegal to him.
This is the advice he would give the owners if they were his clients: "The area is so unclear that if there were a criminal action, you would have a good chance of prevailing on your defense.
"As long as they are not selling, and as long as the people using are of legal age, I do not see the problem," he said. "I don't see any statute they are breaking."
Proponents of the marijuana club say banning pot clubs violates the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment right of people to peaceably assemble.
The Legislature convenes Jan. 19 and a handful of bills are in play that address marijuana.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Alaska: Measure To Shut Down Fairbanks Cannabis Club Postponed
Author: Amanda Bohman
Contact: News Miner
Photo Credit: Eric Engman
Website: News Miner
"I am not backing down," Pruhs said Tuesday, a day after the measure was first scheduled to appear before the Fairbanks City Council. "I am giving the people of this industry time to work with the state and rectify this one way or another.
"I don't believe in shutting down a business so soon when there might be a chance that this could become a legal activity," he said.
Ordinance No. 6002 aimed to make it a misdemeanor crime to operate a marijuana club. A civil fine of $1,000 a day was attached to the legislation, which was set to be introduced on Monday but was then postponed until June 6.
About a dozen supporters of The Higher Calling attended the council meeting, testifying in favor of the club, which opened in November at 310 First Ave. Pruhs said one person testified against the club.
Members must be 21 and pay $10 per day or $30 per month to bring their own pot to consume at the facility, a former wine bar. The clubs operates from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 2 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday.
Marcus Mooers, owner of The Higher Calling, said in a text message that he thinks letting the state address the issue is the right call.
"While this does not finally resolve the matter, we appreciate being given the opportunity to show that cannabis clubs can be good for downtown and for the community," Mooers said. "We hope that the city will reach out to the state Legislature in support of consumption venues and the cannabis industry."
The issue of cannabis clubs has been difficult for the state to hash out. The voter-approved law decriminalizing pot says nothing about marijuana clubs. Nor do state regulations adopted late last year by the Alaska Marijuana Control Board, though the board did allow for marijuana retail stores to have a consumption room as an add-on.
The control board heard a legal opinion on cannabis clubs last year from an attorney with the Department of Law, Harriet Dinegar Milks. She told the panel that the board lacks the authority to add a new category of licensed marijuana facility.
The ballot measure, which is now law, decriminalizing pot only listed four categories of licensed facilities: cultivating, testing, manufacturing and retail.
"The board can't just say, "We want to add to what the law says,'" Dinegar Milks said.
A Fairbanks attorney who litigated personal use of marijuana and won in a case before the Alaska Court of Appeals in 2003 said he thinks the pot club is legal. The attorney, Bill Satterberg, said that, while decriminalized pot is new territory for Alaska, nothing about the cannabis club appears illegal to him.
This is the advice he would give the owners if they were his clients: "The area is so unclear that if there were a criminal action, you would have a good chance of prevailing on your defense.
"As long as they are not selling, and as long as the people using are of legal age, I do not see the problem," he said. "I don't see any statute they are breaking."
Proponents of the marijuana club say banning pot clubs violates the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment right of people to peaceably assemble.
The Legislature convenes Jan. 19 and a handful of bills are in play that address marijuana.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Alaska: Measure To Shut Down Fairbanks Cannabis Club Postponed
Author: Amanda Bohman
Contact: News Miner
Photo Credit: Eric Engman
Website: News Miner
