Dunleavy picks shake up board regulating marijuana

Dunleavy picks shake up board regulating marijuana

The board could be shifting right.

The board that regulates Alaska’s legal marijuana industry could be shifting right, with appointments by Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy of a marijuana critic and a law enforcement officer who would like to revisit onsite use rules.

Dunleavy’s appointments of Vivian Stiver and Lt. Christopher Jaime are subject to legislative confirmation.

Stiver replaces Brandon Emmett, an industry representative on the Marijuana Control Board. Jaime, an Alaska Wildlife Trooper from Soldotna who also has worked as an Alaska State Trooper, replaces Sitka Police Chief Jeff Ankerfelt.

Ankerfelt was appointed by former Gov. Bill Walker but had not yet been confirmed.

[Dunleavy declares ‘war on criminals,’ delves into fiscal plan]

The law establishing the five-member board calls for up to two members who are actively involved in the industry though one of those seats could go to a member of the general public. Nicholas Miller retains an industry seat.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

There is also a public health seat, held by Loren Jones, and a rural seat, held by Mark Springer.

Ankerfelt voted with Emmett and Miller last month in approving rules for allowing onsite use of marijuana at authorized stores. Dunleavy spokesman Matt Shuckerow has said the recent decision to replace Ankerfelt was not based on prior policy positions.

[Gov’s crime message resonates, but Juneau lawmakers hesitant about constitutional amendments]

Shuckerow, in an email Wednesday, said it’s no secret that Stiver “holds a certain skepticism for legal marijuana use,” which he said other Alaskans share. He said Dunleavy believes she will help bring a valuable perspective to the board.

Dunleavy’s administration recognizes legal marijuana “is the law of the land, and will do their part to enforce the law, but also want to give concerned Alaskans — as the law intended — a voice in the decision-making process,” Shuckerow wrote.

Stiver was involved in a failed 2017 effort to ban marijuana operations in Fairbanks. The Fairbanks area has become a prominent growing region for the legal industry.

Alaskans voted to legalize so-called recreational use of marijuana in 2014, and Stiver said she can’t change that. But she said she can contribute to efforts to move forward in a responsible way. Education is important, she said.

“There are aspects of legalization that aren’t so good, right? I mean, that just can’t be denied,” she said. “So I want to contribute what I can, the best that I can that people have knowledge, our youth have knowledge, they understand what can happen.”

[Alaska regulators approve rules for onsite marijuana use]

Emmett, who said he is serving on the board through February, when his term expires, called Stiver an “abject prohibitionist” who has fought the industry.

“I don’t think she represents the general public in Alaska and certainly not the majority of the public in Fairbanks,” said Emmett, who is from Fairbanks. He added later: “This isn’t just me throwing stones because I’m unhappy about losing my seat.”

Jaime said he wants to educate himself on issues facing the board. He said respecting the wishes of the people is important but sensible regulations also are needed.

“We already opened the door, now we need to regulate it and go slow,” he said.

He and Stiver expressed concern about onsite use. Jaime said the issue should be revisited if possible. Stiver said she wants to learn more about how the board reached its decision.

The proposed rules for allowing onsite use of marijuana at authorized stores were sent to the Department of Law for further review and must yet be finalized. Once they are, interested businesses would have to apply for a special onsite use endorsement and devise plans that would meet ventilation and other standards and pass muster with the board.

Chris Lindsey, senior legislative counsel with the Marijuana Policy Project, has said Alaska would have the first regulatory framework for onsite use at the state level.

Cary Carrigan, executive director of the Alaska Marijuana Industry Association, said he hopes onsite use moves forward. He said the industry has proven itself to be responsible and answerable to the public.

“Every time something has come up to that needed to be addressed by the industry, we have done so,” he said.


• This is an Associated Press report by Becky Bohrer.


More in News

Students stand during a protest against the possible closure of Sterling Elementary School along the Sterling Highway in Soldotna, Alaska, on Saturday, May 3, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
KPBSD board starts talking 2026 school closures

This year, the district closed Nikolaevsk School and very nearly closed Sterling Elementary School.

The badge for the Kenai Police Department
Kenai man arrested after allegedly stealing truck and camper

Police were called shortly after 11 a.m. on Wednesday.

Aspen trees offer a spot of red on Saturday, Sept. 11, 2021, at the Hidden Lake Campground in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge near Sterling, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
Mystery Creek Access Road to open Friday

The road is usually closed in the fall as weather causes road conditions to deteriorate.

The joint House and Senate majorities of the Alaska Legislature hold a press availability after the adjournment of the Legislature’s special session in Juneau, Alaska, on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025. (Screenshot courtesy Gavel Alaska/KTOO)
Alaska Legislature adjourns after overriding governor vetoes

Gov. Mike Dunleavy railed against the Legislature’s adjournment as being opaque.

Alaska Senate President Gary Stevens, a Kodiak Republican, left, talks with House Speaker Bryce Edgmon, a Dillingham independent, before Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s State of the State speech on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, at the Alaska State Capitol. (Klas Stolpe/Juneau Empire)
Legislature overrides veto of bill aimed at increased legislative oversight of state oil tax revenue

Lawmakers have said the somewhat obscure policy is significant in the face of missing oil tax information.

The Alaska Legislature’s vote tally shows 45-14 in favor of overriding Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s veto of education funding in the state budget during a joint session in Juneau, Alaska, on Saturday, Aug. 2, 2025. (Screenshot courtesy Gavel Alaska/KTOO)
Legislature narrowly votes to override education funding veto

The increase in funding from Saturday’s veto override will represent a roughly $3 million increase to the KPBSD.

A man fishes in the Kenai River on July 16, 2018, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion/file)
Silver salmon hang in the Seward Boat Harbor during the 2018 Seward Silver Salmon Derby. (Photo courtesy of Seward Chamber of Commerce)
Seward Silver Salmon Derby opens for 70th year on Saturday

There will also be 10 tagged fish with their own prizes, mystery weight prizes, and a guessing game for non-fishers.

Parents show their kids how to cast their fishing lines during the youth-only coho salmon fishery on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023 at the Nick Dudiak Fishing Lagoon on the Homer Spit in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
Youth coho fishery opens Saturday in Homer

A portion of the Nick Dudiak Fishing Lagoon will be reserved for youth anglers on Aug. 2.

Most Read

You're browsing in private mode.
Please sign in or subscribe to continue reading articles in this mode.

Peninsula Clarion relies on subscription revenue to provide local content for our readers.

Subscribe

Already a subscriber? Please sign in