So you’re visiting a state where recreational marijuana is legal. Congratulations! Now it’s time to get some of that green stuff and partake — but where are you supposed to get high if you don’t have a private residence?
That’s a problem two Alaskan brothers want to solve so they can get a nice slice of the state’s $260 million pot business: They own Juneau’s first marijuana retail shop and want to offer onsite consumption to cruise boat tourists, the Associated Press reports.
“We have a lot of tourists that come to Juneau — over a million every year — and a place for them to consume responsibly seems like a good thing to do,” one of the brothers told the AP.
Regulators will discuss the idea of allowing retail stores in the state to provide separate areas of their business for customers who want to toke up.
This will be the first time the idea has been addressed at the state level in the U.S., Chris Lindsey, a senior legislative counsel with the Marijuana Policy Project, explains to the AP. Currently, eight states and Washington, D.C., have legalized recreational marijuana to some degree.
Even if Alaska’s board gives the okay to onsite consumption, retailers will first have to file applications to create a lounge, including security plans, and how it would be separated from the rest of the retail operation. Ventilating the area is also an issue, while some retail shops would also have to get waivers for local ordinances banning smoking.
In any case, the brothers say they already know what their patrons are looking for: Either high potency pot, or medicinal stuff that will not make that Rob Schneider movie any funnier, but could help ease what ails you.
“They want to get really high, or they don’t want to get high at all,” one of the brothers explained.
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist