Published: 2015
Key Benefits:
Sec. 17.38.090. Rulemaking.
(a) Not later than nine months after February 24, 2015, the board shall adopt regulations necessary for implementation of this chapter. Such regulations shall not prohibit the operation of marijuana establishments, either expressly or through regulations that make their operation unreasonably impracticable. Such regulations shall include
(1) procedures for the issuance, renewal, suspension, and revocation of a registration to operate a marijuana establishment, with such procedures subject to all requirements of AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act);
(2) a schedule of application, registration, and renewal fees, provided, application fees shall not exceed $5,000, with this upper limit adjusted annually for inflation, unless the board determines a greater fee is necessary to carry out its responsibilities under this chapter;
(3) qualifications for registration that are directly and demonstrably related to the operation of a marijuana establishment;
(4) security requirements for marijuana establishments, including for the transportation of marijuana by marijuana establishments;
(5) requirements to prevent the sale or diversion of marijuana and marijuana products to persons under the age of 21;
(6) labeling requirements for marijuana and marijuana products sold or distributed by a marijuana establishment;
(7) health and safety regulations and standards for the manufacture of marijuana products and the cultivation of marijuana;
(8) reasonable restrictions on the advertising and display of marijuana and marijuana products; and
(9) civil penalties for the failure to comply with regulations made pursuant to this chapter.
(b) In order to ensure that individual privacy is protected, the board shall not require a consumer to provide a retail marijuana store with personal information other than government-issued identification to determine the consumer's age, and a retail marijuana store shall not be required to acquire and record personal information about consumers.
Sec. 17.38.100. Marijuana establishment registrations.
(a) Each application or renewal application for a registration to operate a marijuana establishment shall be submitted to the board. A renewal application may be submitted up to 90 days prior to the expiration of the marijuana establishment's registration.
(b) The board shall begin accepting and processing applications to operate marijuana establishments one year after February 24, 2015.
(c) Upon receiving an application or renewal application for a marijuana establishment, the board shall immediately forward a copy of each application and half of the registration application fee to the local regulatory authority for the local government in which the applicant desires to operate the marijuana establishment, unless the local government has not designated a local regulatory authority pursuant to AS 17.38.110 (c).
(d) Within 45 to 90 days after receiving an application or renewal application, the board shall issue an annual registration to the applicant unless the board finds the applicant is not in compliance with regulations enacted pursuant to AS 17.38.090 or the board is notified by the relevant local government that the applicant is not in compliance with ordinances and regulations made pursuant to AS 17.38.110 and in effect at the time of application.
(e) If a local government has enacted a numerical limit on the number of marijuana establishments and a greater number of applicants seek registrations, the board shall solicit and consider input from the local regulatory authority as to the local government's preference or preferences for registration.
(f) Upon denial of an application, the board shall notify the applicant in writing of the specific reason for its denial.
(g) Every marijuana establishment registration shall specify the location where the marijuana establishment will operate. A separate registration shall be required for each location at which a marijuana establishment operates.
(h) Marijuana establishments and the books and records maintained and created by marijuana establishments are subject to inspection by the board.
Sec. 17.38.110. Local control.
(a) A local government may prohibit the operation of marijuana cultivation facilities, marijuana product manufacturing facilities, marijuana testing facilities, or retail marijuana stores through the enactment of an ordinance or by a voter initiative.
(b) A local government may enact ordinances or regulations not in conflict with this chapter or with regulations enacted pursuant to this chapter, governing the time, place, manner, and number of marijuana establishment operations. A local government may establish civil penalties for violation of an ordinance or regulation governing the time, place, and manner of a marijuana establishment that may operate in such local government.
(c) A local government may designate a local regulatory authority that is responsible for processing applications submitted for a registration to operate a marijuana establishment within the boundaries of the local government. The local government may provide that the local regulatory authority may issue such registrations should the issuance by the local government become necessary because of a failure by the board to adopt regulations pursuant to AS 17.38.090 or to accept or process applications in accordance with AS 17.38.100 .
(d) A local government may establish procedures for the issuance, suspension, and revocation of a registration issued by the local government in accordance with (f) of this section or (g) of this section. These procedures shall be subject to all requirements of AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act).
(e) A local government may establish a schedule of annual operating, registration, and application fees for marijuana establishments, provided, the application fee shall only be due if an application is submitted to a local government in accordance with (f) of this section and a registration fee shall only be due if a registration is issued by a local government in accordance with (f) of this section or (g) of this section.
(f) If the board does not issue a registration to an applicant within 90 days of receipt of the application filed in accordance with AS 17.38.100 and does not notify the applicant of the specific, permissible reason for its denial, in writing and within such time period, or if the board has adopted regulations pursuant to AS 17.38.090 and has accepted applications pursuant to AS 17.38.100 but has not issued any registrations by 15 months after the effective date of this Act, the applicant may resubmit its application directly to the local regulatory authority, pursuant to (c) of this section, and the local regulatory authority may issue an annual registration to the applicant. If an application is submitted to a local regulatory authority under this subsection, the board shall forward to the local regulatory authority the application fee paid by the applicant to the board upon request by the local regulatory authority.
(g) If the board does not adopt regulations required by AS 17.38.090, an applicant may submit an application directly to a local regulatory authority after one year after February 24, 2015 and the local regulatory authority may issue an annual registration to the applicant.
(h) A local regulatory authority issuing a registration to an applicant shall do so within 90 days of receipt of the submitted or resubmitted application unless the local regulatory authority finds and notifies the applicant that the applicant is not in compliance with ordinances and regulations made pursuant to (b) of this section in effect at the time the application is submitted to the local regulatory authority. The local government shall notify the board if an annual registration has been issued to the applicant.
(i) A registration issued by a local government in accordance with (f) of this section or (g) of this section shall have the same force and effect as a registration issued by the board in accordance with AS 17.38.100 . The holder of such registration shall not be subject to regulation or enforcement by the board during the term of that registration.
(j) A subsequent or renewed registration may be issued under (f) of this section on an annual basis only upon resubmission to the local government of a new application submitted to the board pursuant to AS 17.38.100.
(k) A subsequent or renewed registration may be issued under (g) of this section on an annual basis if the board has not adopted regulations required by AS 17.38.090 at least 90 days prior to the date upon which such subsequent or renewed registration would be effective or if the board has adopted regulations pursuant to AS 17.38.090 but has not, at least 90 days after the adoption of such regulations, issued registrations pursuant to AS 17.38.100 .
(l) Nothing in this section shall limit such relief as may be available to an aggrieved party under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act).
Sec. 17.38.120. Employers, driving, minors, and control of property.
(a) Nothing in this chapter is intended to require an employer to permit or accommodate the use, consumptions, possession, transfer, display, transportation, sale, or growing of marijuana in the workplace or to affect the ability of employers to have policies restricting the use of marijuana by employees.
(b) Nothing in this chapter is intended to allow driving under the influence of marijuana or to supersede laws related to driving under the influence of marijuana.
(c) Nothing in this chapter is intended to permit the transfer of marijuana, with or without remuneration, to a person under the age of 21.
(d) Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit a person, employer, school, hospital, recreation or youth center, correction facility, corporation, or any other entity who occupies, owns, or controls private property from prohibiting or otherwise regulating the possession, consumption, use, display, transfer, distribution, sale, transportation, or growing of marijuana on or in that property.
Sec. 17.38.130. Impact on medical marijuana law.
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to limit any privileges or rights of a medical marijuana patient or medical marijuana caregiver under AS 17.37.
Sec. 17.38.900. Definitions.
As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires,
(1) "board" means the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board established by AS 04.06;
(2) "consumer" means a person 21 years of age or older who purchases marijuana or marijuana products for personal use by persons 21 years of age or older, but not for resale to others;
(3) "consumption" means the act of ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing marijuana into the human body;
(4) "local government" means both home rule and general law municipalities, including boroughs and cities of all classes and unified municipalities;
(5) "local regulatory authority" means the office or entity designated to process marijuana establishment applications by a local government;
(6) "marijuana" means all parts of the plant of the genus cannabis whether growing or not, the seeds thereof, the resin extracted from any part of the plant, and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the plant, its seeds, or its resin, including marijuana concentrate; "marijuana" does not include fiber produced from the stalks, oil, or cake made from the seeds of the plant, sterilized seed of the plant which is incapable of germination, or the weight of any other ingredient combined with marijuana to prepare topical or oral administrations, food, drink, or other products;
(7) "marijuana accessories" means any equipment, products, or materials of any kind which are used, intended for use, or designed for use in planting, propagating, cultivating, growing, harvesting, composting, manufacturing, compounding, converting, producing, processing, preparing, testing, analyzing, packaging, repackaging, storing, vaporizing, or containing marijuana, or for ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing marijuana into the human body;
(8) "marijuana cultivation facility" means an entity registered to cultivate, prepare, and package marijuana and to sell marijuana to retail marijuana stores, to marijuana product manufacturing facilities, and to other marijuana cultivation facilities, but not to consumers;
(9) "marijuana establishment" means a marijuana cultivation facility, a marijuana testing facility, a marijuana product manufacturing facility, or a retail marijuana store;
(10) "marijuana product manufacturing facility" means an entity registered to purchase marijuana; manufacture, prepare, and package marijuana products; and sell marijuana and marijuana products to other marijuana product manufacturing facilities and to retail marijuana stores, but not to consumers;
(11) "marijuana products" means concentrated marijuana products and marijuana products that are comprised of marijuana and other ingredients and are intended for use or consumption, such as, but not limited to, edible products, ointments, and tinctures;
(12) "marijuana testing facility" means an entity registered to analyze and certify the safety and potency of marijuana;
(13) "retail marijuana store" means an entity registered to purchase marijuana from marijuana cultivation facilities, to purchase marijuana and marijuana products from marijuana product manufacturing facilities, and to sell marijuana and marijuana products to consumers;
(14) "unreasonably impracticable" means that the measures necessary to comply with the regulations require such a high investment of risk, money, time, or any other resource or asset that the operation of a marijuana establishment is not worthy of being carried out in practice by a reasonably prudent businessperson.
Sec. 18.05.010. Administration of laws by department.
(a) The department shall administer the statutes and regulations relating to the promotion and protection of the public health as provided by law.
(b) In performing its duties under this chapter, AS 18.09, and AS 18.15.355 - 18.15.395, the department may
(1) flexibly use the broad range of powers set out in this title assigned to the department to protect and promote the public health;
(2) provide public health information programs or messages to the public that promote healthy behaviors or lifestyles or educate individuals about health issues;
(3) promote efforts among public and private sector partners to develop and finance programs or initiatives that identify and ameliorate health problems;
(4) establish, finance, provide, or endorse performance management standards for the public health system;
(5) develop, adopt, and implement
(A) a statewide health plan under AS 18.09 based on recommendations of the Alaska Health Care Commission established in AS 18.09.010 ; and
(B) public health plans and formal policies through regulations adopted under AS 44.62 or collaborative recommendations that guide or support individual and community public health efforts;
(6) establish formal or informal relationships with public or private sector partners within the public health system;
(7) identify, assess, prevent, and ameliorate conditions of public health importance through surveillance; epidemiological tracking, program evaluation, and monitoring; testing and screening programs; treatment; administrative inspections; or other techniques;
(8) promote the availability and accessibility of quality health care services through health care facilities or providers;
(9) promote availability of and access to preventive and primary health care when not otherwise available through the private sector, including acute and episodic care, prenatal and postpartum care, child health, family planning, school health, chronic disease prevention, child and adult immunization, testing and screening services, dental health, nutrition, and health education and promotion services;
(10) systematically and regularly review the public health system and recommend modifications in its structure or other features to improve public health outcomes; and
(11) collaborate with public and private sector partners, including municipalities, Alaska Native organizations, health care providers, and health insurers, within the public health system to achieve the mission of public health.
Sec. 18.05.020. Department to report activities.
The department shall prepare an annual report of its activities and notify the legislature not later than 10 days after it convenes that the report is available.
Sec. 18.05.030. Cooperation with federal government.
The department shall
(1) cooperate with the federal government in matters of mutual concern pertaining to public health, the control of communicable diseases, maternal and child health and crippled children, and other matters within the scope of this title;
(2) make reports, in the form and containing the information the federal government requires;
(3) cooperate with the federal government, its agencies or instrumentalities in establishing, extending, and strengthening services for the protection of the public health, and receive and expend funds and receive, utilize, and maintain equipment and facilities made available to the department by a department or agency of the federal government, the government of the state or its political subdivisions, and a person or nonofficial agency.
Sec. 18.05.031. Program planning for developmental disability. [Repealed, Sec. 5 ch 165 SLA 1978. For current law, see AS 47.80].
Repealed or Renumbered
Sec. 18.05.032. Information relating to pregnancy and pregnancy alternatives.
(a) The department shall maintain on the Internet, in printable form, standard information that
(1) contains geographically indexed material designed to inform a person of public and private agencies, services, clinics, and facilities that are available to assist a woman with the woman's reproductive choices; the department shall include information about at least the following types of agencies, services, clinics, and facilities:
(A) agencies, services, clinics, and facilities designed to assist a woman through pregnancy, including adoption agencies, and counseling services;
(B) agencies, services, clinics, and facilities that provide abortion options and counseling and post-abortion counseling and services; and
(C) agencies, services, clinics, and facilities designed to assist with or provide contraceptive options and counseling for appropriate family planning;
(2) includes a comprehensive regional directory of the agencies, services, clinics, and facilities that request to be identified by the department under (1) of this subsection, a description of the services they offer, and the manner in which the agencies, services, clinics, and facilities may be contacted, including telephone numbers;
(3) provides information concerning the eligibility for medical assistance benefits for prenatal care, childbirth, neonatal care, abortion services, women's health care, and contraception;
(4) states that informed and voluntary consent is required under AS 18.16.060 for an abortion;
(5) provides information concerning the process by which a mother of a child may establish a child support order to assist in the support of a child;
(6) describes the fetal development of a typical unborn child at two-week gestational increments from fertilization to full-term, including links to photographs of a typical unborn child at four-week gestational increments, and relevant information about the possibility of an unborn child's survival at the various gestational ages; the information must be objective, nonjudgmental information that is reviewed and approved for medical accuracy by recognized obstetrical and gynecological specialists designated by the State Medical Board and designed to convey only accurate scientific information about unborn children at various gestational ages;
(7) contains objective, unbiased information that is reviewed and approved for medical accuracy by recognized obstetrical and gynecological specialists designated by the State Medical Board and that describes the methods of abortion procedures and treatments commonly employed and the medical risks and possible complications commonly associated with each procedure and treatment, as well as the possible physical and psychological effects that have been associated with having an abortion;
(8) contains objective, unbiased information that is reviewed and approved for medical accuracy by recognized obstetrical and gynecological specialists designated by the State Medical Board and that describes the possible medical risks and complications commonly associated with pregnancy and childbirth, as well as the possible physical and psychological effects that have been associated with carrying a child to term;
(9) contains objective, unbiased information that is reviewed and approved for medical accuracy by recognized obstetrical and gynecological specialists designated by the State Medical Board and that concerns the harmful effects on an unborn child when a woman consumes alcohol, tobacco, or illegal drugs during pregnancy;
(10) contains objective, unbiased, and comprehensive information that is reviewed and approved for medical accuracy by recognized obstetrical and gynecological specialists designated by the State Medical Board and that describes the different types of available contraceptive choices, including abstinence and natural family planning, that describes the methods of contraception that are intended to prevent fertilization and the methods that are intended to prevent implantation of a fertilized egg, and that describes the reliability, psychological effects, medical risks, and complications commonly associated with each method;
(11) contains a disclaimer on the website home page concerning the graphic or sensitive nature of the information contained on the website;
(12) contains a signature form by which a person may indicate the person has reviewed the information.
(b) The department shall adopt regulations establishing procedures for establishing and maintaining the information under this section.
(c) In this section,
(1) "abortion" has the meaning given in AS 18.16.090 ;
(2) "fertilization" means the fusion of a human spermatozoon with a human ovum;
(3) "gestational age" means the age of the unborn child as calculated from the first day of the last menstrual period of a pregnant woman;
(4) "unborn child" means the offspring of a human being in utero at various stages of biological development.
Sec. 18.05.035. Planned parenthood information.
The department shall prepare information regarding planned parenthood. The department shall place the information in public hospitals, clinics, or other health facilities throughout the state, and upon request of its administrator, in a private hospital, clinic, or health facility, so that members of the public may obtain the information voluntarily, without request. The department shall also advertise the availability of the information and distribute it to any person upon written request.
Sec. 18.05.037. Fetal health effects information.
The department shall prepare or obtain distributable information on fetal alcohol effects and the fetal health effects of chemical abuse and battering during pregnancy. The department shall make this information available to public hospitals, clinics, and other health facilities in the state for distribution to their patients.
Sec. 18.05.040. Regulations.
(a) The commissioner shall adopt regulations consistent with existing law for
(1) the time, manner, information to be reported, and persons responsible for reporting for each disease or other condition of public health importance on the list developed under AS 18.15.370 ;
(2) cooperation with local boards of health and health officers;
(3) protection and promotion of the public health and prevention of disability and mortality;
(4) the transportation of dead bodies, except that the commissioner may not require that a dead body be embalmed unless the body is known to carry a communicable disease or embalmment is otherwise required for the protection of the public health or for compliance with federal law;
(5) carrying out the purposes of this chapter;
(6) the conduct of its business and for carrying out the provisions of laws of the United States and the state relating to public health;
(7) establishing the divisions and local offices and advisory groups necessary or considered expedient to carry out or assist in carrying out a duty or power assigned to it;
(8) the voluntary certification of laboratories to perform diagnostic, quality control, or enforcement analyses or examinations based on recognized or tentative standards of performance relating to analysis and examination of food, including seafood, milk, water, and specimens from human beings submitted by licensed physicians and nurses for analysis;
(9) the regulation of quality and purity of commercially compressed oxygen sold for human respiration;
(10) establishing confidentiality and security standards for information and records received under AS 18.15.355 - 18.15.395.
(b) A regulation may not be adopted under (a) of this section that duplicates, conflicts with, or is inconsistent with AS 18.60.705 - 18.60.740.
Sec. 18.05.042. Access to health care records.
(a) The department may, during reasonable business hours, inspect health care records maintained by physicians and other health care professionals, hospitals, out-patient clinics, nursing homes, and other facilities or agencies providing health care services to patients that would identify patients or establish characteristics of an identified patient with cancer required to be reported under 42 U.S.C. 280e - 280e-4, or a birth defect or infectious disease required to be reported to protect the public health under this chapter and regulations adopted under this chapter. Disclosure of these health care records to the department does not constitute a breach of patient confidentiality.
(b) The department may conduct research using health care data reported under (a) of this section. The department may provide data obtained under (a) of this section to other persons for clinical, epidemiological, or other public health research.
(c) Data obtained or a record inspected under this section that identifies a particular individual
(1) is confidential;
(2) may not be further disclosed to other persons except by the department under (b) of this section; and
(3) is not subject to inspection or copying under AS 40.25.110 - 40.25.125.
Sec. 18.05.044. , 18.05.046. Registry of persons with impairments; Use of the registry of persons with impairments. [Repealed, Sec. 12 ch 54 SLA 2005].
Repealed or Renumbered
Sec. 18.05.050. Hospital advisory council. [Repealed, Sec. 3 ch 89 SLA 1964].
Repealed or Renumbered
Sec. 18.05.051. - 18.05.055. Comprehensive Health Advisory Council; powers and duties; definitions. [Repealed, Sec. 2 ch 78 SLA 1973].
Repealed or Renumbered