Alaska approves draft rules for pot use at certain shops

The board tasked with regulating Alaska’s nascent marijuana industry has approved draft regulations for how customers will be allowed to consume pot they buy in certain retail stores on site.

The proposed rules, which will go out for public comment, call for retail stores that will be permitted to have on-site consumption to have the consumption area cordoned off from the rest of the store by a secure door. Items purchased to be consumed at the store could not be removed from the premises. Regulators likened it to bars, where patrons are not allowed to-go cups for beers they don’t finish.

There would be transaction limits, and stores would have to monitor patrons for overconsumption. Gimmicks such as contests involving use of marijuana or pot as prizes would be prohibited.

Retail pot shops have yet to be licensed in Alaska.

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