722 days after vote, Alaska’s first pot shop opens Saturday

Alaska’s first marijuana retailer will opening Saturday.

At least, that’s the plan.

Leif Abel owns Greatland Ganja in Kasilof, and said by phone Wednesday that after dropping off his first batch of cannabis at a testing facility in Anchorage this week, the results are in.

“They confirmed that our product samples were all very clean, some of the cleanest product that they’ve seen,” Abel said.

“Of course, they’ve only looked through two or three cultivators at this point,” he added.

Greatland Ganja is a cultivation business, which means they’ll sell cannabis to shops, but not directly to consumers.

The positive results from the testing facility mean Abel can begin transporting product to retailers like Herbal Outfitters in Valdez, which is holding it’s grand opening this Saturday.

If everything proceeds as planned, Herbal Outfitters will be the first shop to sell marijuana in Alaska — 722 days after voters opted for a commercial industry at the polls in 2014.

The first retail store in Anchorage, Arctic Herbery, is on track to open at the end of next week.

Alaska Public Media

Alaska Public Media is one of our partner stations in Anchorage. KTOO collaborates with partners across the state to cover important news and to share stories with our audiences.

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