Marijuana

Faced with uncertainty over Congress meeting its deadline to approve a bill, the House’s leadership decided to vote on both a long-term spending bill and a stop-gap continuing resolution.

With an initiative to treat marijuana like alcohol now certified, lawmakers are preparing for the issue to come up this legislative session.

The Anchorage Municipality may use its leverage as the state’s population center to influence how laws on commercial marijuana take shape in the year ahead.

While the state figures out how to regulate marijuana commerce, several federal laws sit as roadblocks to the business of cannabis.

The road to a legal and regulated marijuana market is months away, and communities who still want to keep the divisive drug out are looking at doing so the same way many currently ban alcohol: the local option.

Municipalities have the option to ban the sale of marijuana, but they can’t restrict transportation or possession.