After considering a delay in legal marijuana sales, Gov. Bill Walker has confirmed that implementation of rules regulating the drug should meet the schedule approved by voters. APRN’s Alexandra Gutierrez reports.
At a Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce event in mid-December, Gov. Bill Walker made a crack about how he wished he could delay the work of marijuana regulation for four years. During campaign season, back when he was still a candidate and the fate of a marijuana ballot measure was yet to be decided, Walker spent little time talking about the initiative except to say he opposed it. Now obligated by voters to do something about it, Walker told the Fairbanks audience he would like to delay some parts of the marijuana initiative by 90 days.
But in a press release on Tuesday, the governor announced he plans to stick to the schedule set by the initiative, with marijuana business licenses available by May of 2014. According to those tasked with the work of implementation, making that deadline is still going to be tight.
“There’s very little leeway or room in that timeline,” says Cynthia Franklin, director of the state’s alcoholic beverage control board