Juneau’s Loren Jones appointed to state marijuana board

Loren Jones is on the Juneau Assembly.
Loren Jones

Gov. Bill Walker has appointed Juneau Assemblyman Loren Jones to the state’s new Marijuana Control Board.

The body is tasked with developing regulations covering aspects of marijuana cultivation, processing and commercial sale. Board members represent the public health and public safety sectors, the marijuana industry and rural Alaska.

A press release says Jones was appointed to the public health seat for his long history in the substance abuse and mental health fields. He has also served as the director of the Alaska Division of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, which is now part of the Division of Behavioral Health.

The rest of the five-person board is made up of men from Anchorage, Fairbanks, Bethel and Soldotna:

  • Peter Mlynarik of Soldotna fills the public safety seat. Mlynarik has been the chief of police in Soldotna since 2012 and spent over 20 years with the Alaska State Troopers.
  • Mark Springer from Bethel was appointed to the rural seat. He’s a Bethel City Council member and is active with the Alaska Municipal League.
  • Bruce Schulte from Anchorage fills one of the industry seats. Schulte has been a spokesman for both the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol and the Coalition for Responsible Cannabis Legislation.
  • Walker appointed Brandon Emmett from Fairbanks to the other seat representing the marijuana industry. He’s the executive director for the Coalition for Responsible Cannabis Legislation and is actively involved with a Fairbanks borough marijuana work group.

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