KODIAK, Alaska (AP) — A Kodiak woman is hoping to open the city’s first commercial marijuana business.
Janiese Stevens has applied for a cultivation facility in the city. She is the first person to submit an application to the Marijuana Control Board from Kodiak, The Kodiak Daily Mirror reported.
The Three Sisters Co-op would be located near both a police station and an elementary school, but Stevens said she used a tape measure to check if she complied with state law.
“I took a 100-foot tape measure and measured the distances,” she said. “I’m not a land surveyor, and I don’t know who would do the final measuring, but I stopped at 600 feet and I was still a little bit away.”
Marijuana regulations require commercial operations to be 500 feet away from schools, recreation or youth centers, churches and correctional facilities.
If approved, Stevens would be allowed to begin growing marijuana inside a warehouse on the property. She said if all goes without a hitch she should be growing in about six months. Selling in Kodiak would require a retail store facility and a separate state-issued license.
“If all goes well with this application and license, it is possible that I’ll look for a retail permit,” Stevens said.
Kodiak has not yet created local marijuana regulations. Two City Council sessions on the topic were canceled earlier this year due to bad weather, but Mayor Pat Branson at a meeting earlier this month said another marijuana meeting is slated for April. Stevens said she will work with the city as she readies her business.
“I understand that it’s a new business entity,” Stevens said. “I’m willing to work with the city and the borough in any regulations that they bring about.”
