Alaska
Cannabis Laws

The Alcohol & Marijuana Control Office (AMCO) is responsible for overseeing and licensing marijuana businesses in Alaska.

In Alaska, all marijuana business licenses are premises-based, which means the first step in applying for a license is securing a suitable location. Proposed marijuana retail store locations must adhere to all local ordinances and zoning codes, as well as the buffer zones set forth in Alaska’s marijuana regulations. Once you can demonstrate possession of a suitable property or a lease or rental agreement, you may begin the application process.

AMCO’s marijuana licensing page contains links to electronic applications for both marijuana license renewals and new marijuana establishment licenses; this is where you’ll begin your retail marijuana license application. Once you’ve completed the initial online application, you’ll be required to submit supplemental forms, as well as provide proper public notice, including notifying your local government.

After the public notice period, AMCO will review your application and all supplemental materials. If the application is complete, AMCO will initiate the 60-day waiting period for local government protest, as well as review the application at the next regular Marijuana Control Board Meeting. If approved by the board, AMCO will conduct a premises inspection of your proposed location, and award your license if the premises meets all requirements.

The following resources will help guide you through the application process:

• AMCO Marijuana Establishment Application Flow Chart
• AMCO New Marijuana Establishment Application Instructions
• AMCO’s Marijuana Frequently Asked Questions
• AMCO Marijuana Establishment Application Process Training Videos
• AMCO Marijuana Establishment Application Most Common Errors
• Alaska Statutes Title 17.38: The Regulation of Marijuana
• Alaska Administrative Code Chapter 306: Regulations for the Marijuana Control Board

The application fee for a new marijuana establishment is $1,000. You’ll also pay a fingerprint fee of $48.25 for each person associated with the application. The licensing fee for a retail marijuana store is $5,000.

No, with one exception: testing facility licenses are independent of all other license types. This means that a licensed marijuana testing facility may not have any licensee, employee, or agent who holds any type of marijuana establishment license other than a testing facility license.

In Alaska, adults aged 21 and older may purchase marijuana from licensed retail stores.

Retail marijuana customers may purchase up to one ounce of usable marijuana, up to seven grams of marijuana concentrate for inhalation, or up to 5,600 milligrams of THC in combined marijuana and marijuana products per day.

Retail cannabis store locations must adhere to local zoning ordinances. Additionally, cannabis retail stores may not be located within 500 feet of a school ground, a recreation or youth center, a building in which religious services are regularly conducted, or a correctional facility.

Under Alaska’s state law, retail marijuana stores are permitted to conduct business between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 a.m. Local jurisdictions may impose further restrictions on retail marijuana operating hours.

Retail marijuana stores are required to post the following notices in a conspicuous location visible to customers:

• “Consumption of marijuana in public is prohibited by law.”
• “Transportation or carriage of marijuana or marijuana products on Alaska waterways, including cruise ships, or by air carrier is prohibited by federal law.”
• Transportation or shipment of marijuana or marijuana products outside the State of Alaska is prohibited by federal law.”
• “Providing marijuana to persons under 21 years of age is prohibited by law.”

These notification signs must be at least 11 inches by 15 inches in size, with lettering at least one-half inch in height and in colors that contrast with the background.

Retailers must verify that customers are 21 years of age or older via valid photographic identification before selling any marijuana products. Valid forms of photo ID include an unexpired passport, driver’s license, instruction permit, or ID card from a U.S. state or territory, the District of Columbia, or a province or territory of Canada.

Retailers must ensure that all marijuana product in their possession is identified and tracked from the time the store receives it through the sale, transfer, or disposal of the product.

Upon receipt, retailers are required to immediately enter identification information for the batch of marijuana or lot of marijuana product into their inventory tracking system; retailers may not accept any marijuana product that does not have a valid transport manifest generated from the inventory tracking system of the marijuana establishment that originated the delivery.

Additionally, retailers must reconcile each transaction from the marijuana store’s point-of-sale system and current inventory to its inventory tracking system at the close of business each day.

Metrc provides statewide seed-to-sale tracking and reporting in Alaska.

Retailers must use a marijuana inventory tracking system capable of sharing information with Metrc.

Yes. Cova’s cannabis retail point of sale and inventory management system includes all the features needed to keep Alaska retailers compliant, including:

• Inventory and sales tracking and reporting that is fully integrated with Metrc, the state’s contracted seed-to-sale system provider
• Built-in product equivalency conversions and purchase limit enforcement to prevent over-selling
• Programmable hours of operation to prevent unauthorized transactions
• ID scanner for customer age verification