Pot testing rules difficult to meet for island communities

KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) – Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott has turned down a proposed change to marijuana regulations that would have made it easier for southeast and rural Alaska communities to comply with testing requirements.

Mallott signed testing regulations drafted by the Alaska Marijuana Control Board on Friday. The rules were approved without a provision that would have allowed alternative testing requirements for communities off the road system, The Ketchikan Daily News reported.

The Nov. 20 amendment stated that “when geographic location and transportation limitations make it unfeasible for a manufacturing facility to transport testing samples to a lab, an applicant for licensure may propose alternative means of testing to meet the requirements of this code.’’

Bruce Schulte, chairman of the control board and the head of the Alaska Marijuana Industry Association board, had pushed for the amendment. He said the Alaska Department of Law rejected the change because it was too board.

As the state moves closer to accepting marijuana license applications, there remains a challenge for island communities with access to testing facilities. State rules require marijuana to be tested before businesses can sell it, and federal law prohibits air and water transportation of cannabis.

Information provided to the Marijuana Control Board indicates that testing equipment can carry six-figure price tags, which may put a testing facility out of reach for the smaller communities.

Aaron Bean, a Sitka resident who hopes to open marijuana cultivation and retail businesses, helped Schulte draft the amendment.

“There’s no real realistic way to assume we would be a big enough market to support a $500,000 to $700,000 lab,’’ Bean said. “... Not only that, but the state is requiring a doctorate with two years of lab experience, and there’s just not a lot of those folks running around who would want to do that.’’

Bean said he plans to keep pushing for an amendment that would allow an alternative testing plan for island communities.

“I think that there’s a lot of things (in the Department of Law review) that make sense from their side,’’ Bean said. “We can make this work. I’m confident.’’