Local pot shop applications submitted

Two license applications for a prospective marijuana retailer have been submitted to the state Marijuana Control Board for consideration.

The applications – for retail and cultivation – were submitted October 24 on behalf of Happy Cannabis, a business being developed by Wrangell restaurateur Kelsey Martinsen.

Renovating the former Thunderbird Hotel, the business will feature a retail area and a separate grow and process facility. Martinsen expects the business should not produce much additional traffic flow, or at least not more than it had done when it operated as a hotel. Signage would not be visible from Front Street, and customers would have to show valid identification before being admitted inside.

His applications are the first to be received by the MCB

from the Wrangell area, after it began accepting them in

February. Licensed cultivators have already begun producing in the state and the first cannabis retailer opened its doors last week in Valdez.

Martinsen would have filed sooner, but had to wait for zoning restrictions to be evaluated and revised by the city. The Planning and Zoning Commission had denied an initial attempt in April, due to the cultivation and processing activities necessary to the business not complying with then-current commercial zoning restrictions.

The commission subsequently updated its code and passed recommendations on to the Borough Assembly, which in turn approved the changes earlier last month. One of the requirements of the new zoning is that marijuana-related businesses have to seek a conditional use permit before setting up shop, allowing for public hearing prior to approval. Speaking Tuesday, Martinsen intended to file for a conditional use permit for the business.

While he still could have filed for a retail license, Martinsen had waited on the Planning and Zoning decision because the cultivation aspect had been key to his business model. Uncertainties within the budding industry have made the transport of stock

difficult, and Happy Cannabis will at least initially be largely self-producing.

Together, applications for the retail and cultivation licenses cost Martinsen $12,000 to file. He also intends to apply for a license to manufacture concentrated tetrahydrocannabinol – THC, the psychoactive compound of cannabis – in about four months time, once his stock of plants are more mature.

During the interim, Martinsen hopes to begin hiring and training staff for the new shop. Employees will have plenty to learn: In addition to obtaining the proper permitting they will have to know how to use the store’s point of sale system as well as the state’s tracking system.

“This tracking system, it’s seed to sale,” he explained.

The Marijuana Enforcement Tracking, Reporting and

Compliance system is in real-time, using serialized tags with barcode, human-readable and radio frequency

identification tags attached to every plant, and labels attached to wholesale packages to track marijuana inventory. The MCB’s site explains each tag is attached to a plant to facilitate tracking through different stages of growth, as well the drying and curing processes.

“That stays with the plant

through its life cycle,” Martinsen commented.

Once the applications are processed, requirements shown to have been met, and all is approved, Martinsen expects the process could be finished by February at the earliest, but will be prepared for any surprises.

“There’s always another step,” he said.