Alaska, the new Amsterdam
Are marijuana cafes and “canna-tourism” the future of The Last Frontier?
Tourism in Alaska is HUGE, with around 2 Million tourists visiting each year — each spending $941 on average.
Marijuana in Alaska is also HUGE — the State of Alaska collected $2.9 million in taxes from legal marijuana operations just last year.
Here in Anchorage, AK where recreational cannabis has been decriminalized, the focus has been shifted to on-site consumption — legislation that would allow people to consume recreational marijuana in designated public areas such as cafes, lounges, etc.
The issue is that the 2 million tourists that visit Alaska each year currently do not have anywhere that they can legally consume their cannabis once they make their purchase. This is because state law stipulates that marijuana is only to be consumed within a private residence.
So tourists in Alaska can buy marijuana legally, but are breaking the law the second they light up!
That said,it is hard not to consider the potential economic and social benefits of allowing on-site cannabis consumption here in Alaska. Especially when you look at other places around the world that allow, and in turn benefit significantly from pro on-site consumption laws:
COLORADO
A 2014 Colorado Department of Revenue report estimated that out-of-state visitors made up 44 percent of retail sales in metro areas like Denver. In rural mountain counties where ski tourism is a main economic driver and local values are still fairly anti-marijuana, non-residents made up 90 percent of marijuana retail purchases.
PORTUGAL
All drugs have been decriminalized in Portugal for more than a decade now. It was the first European nation to decriminalize all drugs, including marijuana, meth and cocaine. While the drugs are still illegal, the country doesn’t believe that one should serve prison time for possession and would rather them get help through the country’s various treatment programs.
AMSTERDAM
Like Portugal, cannabis is technically illegal in the Netherlands, however it has decriminalized small amounts of the plant. Some two million tourists a year visit Amsterdam for their legendary coffee shops, which are licensed to sell weed.
These places serve as a comparable model for what this could look like in Alaska. Especially Amsterdam, which sees right around the same number of tourists each year.
It is hard to say how much revenue these “canna-tourists” actually bring to the Netherlands annually, but the high volumes of people that patronize these cafes is undeniable.
Naysayers to on-site consumption cite marijuana falling into the hands of children, as well as a potential increase in crime as their biggest concerns with laws being passed in favor of on-site consumption.
But without a place for visitors from out of state to legally consume marijuana, playgrounds and other free, public areas that children are exposed to will continue to be viewed as prime locations for tourists to light up.
This issue will likely be solicited for public comment after the Alaska Marijuana Control Board, which notably reports to the same regulating body as The Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, comes to an agreement on how on-site consumption would be regulated.
With the sharp decline in the price of oil and Alaska being in a recession, I think we should consider all of the potential benefits before we turn our nose up at opportunities like this one to revive our economy.
Laws in favor of on-site consumption could bridge the gap between two HUGE, growing industries and in turn,would put Alaska in a much healthier economic condition.
No country has a seamless drug policy, but for the sake of growth and improvement of our economy, I think it’s worth taking a look at the different ways governments approach cannabis and on-site consumption.
The Colorado, Portugal, and Amsterdam marijuana/tourism scenes are just a few examples of how things could look here in Alaska sooner than we think.
