Chapter 3.40
MARIJUANA REGULATION

Sections:

3.40.010    Definitions.

3.40.020    Local regulatory authority.

3.40.030    Violations and penalties.

3.40.040    Marijuana use in public prohibited.

3.40.050    Marijuana use in or on motor vehicles is prohibited.

3.40.060    Marijuana use without consent of property owner.

3.40.070    Prohibitions.

3.40.080    Hours of sale.

3.40.090    Sale of non-marijuana items.

3.40.100    Off-duty police.

3.40.010 Definitions.

“In public” means in or upon any city-owned property, as well as any place that members of the public are able to congregate regardless of whether the property is privately or publicly owned. Examples include, but are not limited to, restaurants, bars, clubs, hallways, lobbies and common areas of hotels and multi-unit buildings, shorelines, waterways and tidelands.

“Marijuana” means all parts of the plant of the genus Cannabis whether grown or not, the seeds thereof, the resin extracted from any part of the plant, and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture or preparation of the plant, its seeds, or its resin, including marijuana concentrate.

“Marijuana accessories” means any equipment, products, or materials of any kind which are used, intended for use, or designed for use in planting, propagating, cultivating, growing, harvesting, composting, manufacturing, compounding, converting, producing, processing, preparing, testing, analyzing, packaging, repackaging, storing, vaporizing, or containing marijuana, or for ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing marijuana into the human body.

“Marijuana establishment” means a marijuana cultivation facility, a marijuana testing facility, a marijuana product manufacturing facility, or a retail marijuana store that has been licensed by the state of Alaska.

“Marijuana products” means items containing concentrated marijuana and items that are comprised of marijuana and other ingredients, and are intended for use or consumption, such as, but not limited to, edible products, ointments, and tinctures. (Ord. O-16-01-02 § 2, 2016: Ord. O-15-08-03A § 1 (part), 2015)

3.40.020 Local regulatory authority.

The city council is designated as the “local regulatory authority” as that term is used in AS 17.38 and any implementing legislation or rulemaking. (Ord. O-15-08-03A § 1 (part), 2015)

3.40.030 Violations and penalties.

(a) It is unlawful for any person who operates any restaurant, eatery, bar, hotel, or other lodging to permit marijuana use in violation of this chapter.

(b) It is unlawful for any person to send, transport, bring, consume or use marijuana or marijuana products in violation of this chapter.

(c) Any person aggrieved by a violation or threatened violation of this chapter, or the city, may bring a civil action against a person who violates this chapter and may recover a civil penalty in an amount equal to the fine amount for the violation as set forth in the bail forfeiture and fine schedule. An action to enjoin a violation may be brought notwithstanding the availability of any other remedy.

(d) Upon conviction of a marijuana establishment licensee for a violation of any provision of this chapter or of the laws or regulations of the state of Alaska pertaining to marijuana and operation of marijuana establishments, the city police department shall send a notification of conviction together with a certified copy of the transcript of the trial proceeding and conviction to the Alaska Marijuana Control Board. (Ord. O-16-01-02 § 3, 2016; Ord. O-15-08-03A § 1 (part), 2015)

3.40.040 Marijuana use in public prohibited.

Use or consumption of marijuana in public is prohibited. This section is not intended to restrict the owner of any property from further restricting use of marijuana. (Ord. O-15-08-03A § 1 (part), 2015)

3.40.050 Marijuana use in or on motor vehicles is prohibited.

Marijuana use in or on motor vehicles, watercraft, or aircraft is prohibited. (Ord. O-15-08-03A § 1 (part), 2015)

3.40.060 Marijuana use without consent of property owner.

(a) Use or consumption of marijuana on private property without the affirmative consent of the property owner is prohibited.

(b) If a person has a possessory interest in private property but is not the owner and the owner prohibits the use or consumption of marijuana, use or consumption of marijuana on or in that property is prohibited. (Ord. O-15-08-03A § 1 (part), 2015)

3.40.070 Prohibitions.

All laws and regulations of the state of Alaska regarding marijuana establishments, marijuana sales, cultivation, distribution, testing, manufacturing, and consumption apply within the city of Nome unless otherwise stated. (Ord. O-16-01-02 § 4 (part), 2016)

3.40.080 Hours of sale.

(a) No person may consume, sell, offer for sale, give, furnish or deliver from a marijuana establishment, or on the premises of a marijuana establishment, any marijuana or marijuana product between the hours of ten p.m. and eleven a.m. on Mondays through Saturdays, and between the hours of ten p.m. and one p.m. on Sundays.

(b) The exception to subsection (a) of this section shall be from the day the first dog team arrives in the city from the Iditarod Dog Sled Race until the day of the Iditarod Banquet, from the first day of the Iditarod Basketball Tournament until the day of the Iditarod Basketball Banquet, from the first day of the Iditarod Dart Tournament and Iditarod Pool Tournament until the day of the Iditarod Dart and Iditarod Pool Tournament Championship Game, and on New Year’s Eve, when marijuana establishments are authorized to remain open until five a.m. on the following day; provided, however, that no exception period described above shall exceed five days in total. On the Sunday of the Bering Sea Open Golf Tournament and on the Sunday known as “Super Bowl Sunday,” marijuana establishments are authorized to open at ten a.m.

(c) The council may provide by resolution for other exceptions to subsection (a) of this section; provided, however, that no exception period under this section shall exceed five days in total. Exceptions authorized under this provision expire upon completion of any exception period. Permanent exceptions must be adopted by ordinance. (Ord. O-16-01-02 § 4 (part), 2016)

3.40.090 Sale of non-marijuana items.

(a) No person shall solicit or engage in the sale, barter or exchange of any item on the premises of a marijuana establishment, except that the licensee, or his or her employees or agents, may sell marijuana, marijuana products, and marijuana accessories.

(b) It is unlawful for a marijuana establishment licensee, or his or her employees or agents, to permit a person who violates subsection (a) of this section to remain upon the premises. If the licensee, or his or her employees or agents, has actual or constructive knowledge of a violation of subsection (a) of this section, he or she permits that person to remain if he or she fails to demand that that person leave the premises, or if such a demand is refused, fails to notify the Nome police department or Alaska State Troopers. As used in this subsection, “constructive knowledge” means the awareness a licensee, or his or her employees or agents, could have through the diligence in the operation of the licensed premises.

(c) The premises occupied by any marijuana establishment shall not be connected by a door, opening or other means of passage for the purpose of sales or for the purpose of passage by the general public to any other retail business establishment. (Ord. O-16-01-02 § 4 (part), 2016)

3.40.100 Off-duty police.

No off-duty law enforcement officer shall enter any marijuana establishment with a firearm in his or her possession. Officers engaged in surreptitious or undercover duties may enter a marijuana establishment with a firearm, provided such a designation as surreptitious or undercover duties has been approved previously by a superior officer, and has been logged previously in an appropriate duty book as surreptitious or undercover law enforcement duties. (Ord. O-16-01-02 § 4 (part), 2016)