Anchorage Assembly votes down drive-thru cannabis sales and free samples for now

Anchorage will not see drive-thru windows at cannabis shops or free samples given away inside stores. At least not for the time being.

Late in its Tuesday night meeting, the Anchorage Assembly took a series of votes that effectively killed both proposals. But the actions played out in a tangled series of amendments on a bifurcated measure, leaving even Assembly leadership mildly confused Wednesday about the practical implications going forward.

The cannabis industry supports retailers being able to give out free samples largely as promotion, either to showcase products at trade events or to lure customers into shops with buy-one-get-one-free deals. State regulators are currently contemplating similar changes.

“Effectively today, retailers are giving free samples, they’re just charging a penny,” said Nick Miller, a local cannabis business owner who also chairs the state’s Marijuana Control Board, at the meeting.

Miller said cannabis shops looking for an edge over competitors drawing in customers cannot legally give away products for free, but have found a workaround in “penny sales” and similar tactics that merit a proper fix in city code.

In their comments, Assembly members were generally receptive to the change. But the adjustment was put on ice through an amendment introduced by West Anchorage member Anna Brawley, who said that if the city was going to allow free samples it should be after a more thorough consideration of rules around things like potency, size, allowable times, or else simply wait for the state measures to come out.

“I want to just state very clearly, my intent is not that this prohibits this forever, it is so that we can pause and come up either with rational local rules or follow the state if and when they take up those rules,” Brawley said.

Her amendment narrowly passed in a 7-to-5 vote, effectively punting a local allowance for giving out samples, though doing nothing to change or curtail various workaround arrangements.

“Personally, I think it’s a distinction without a difference,” said Vice Chair Meg Zaletel on Wednesday.

A handful of residents and business owners offered public testimony in support of the rule change to allow drive-thru sales.

“I believe that drive-thrus are an improvement to customers for purchasing cannabis for access and mobility issues,” said Stephanie Underwood, who works in the industry. “Snow, ice, and thoughtless drivers ... can impede disabled Alaskans.”

The state first allowed drive-thru sales during the pandemic, and has since allowed the measure to stay on the books. Local approval would require bringing municipal code in line and adjusting the city’s land-use code accordingly. Sales would still have to comply with rules around identification verification, and would function with many of the same controls as drive-thru pharmacies.

Members of the industry said that beyond convenience or access, the main appeal of drive-thrus is security, particularly late into the evening.

“13 months ago, our business was a victim of an armed robbery. One of my employees was shot. Thank God he wasn’t killed, but if it continues someone will be,” Miller said.

Debate among Assembly members raised a wide array of issues, from the state’s troublingly high rates of substance abuse to pedestrian-friendly urban design and walkability in city planning.

“I’m less concerned with the control of the substance, and more concerned with how do we plan our cities around people instead of cars,” said downtown member Dan Volland.

“It seems like this is a slippery slope to alcohol drive-ups,” said Karen Bronga, who represents the east side of town.

In the end, enough members found reasons not to like the idea that the vote broke 6 to 6, failing to win a majority of support.

“We’re gonna let the dust settle a little bit,” Miller said on Wednesday by phone. “Some of the industry is gonna regroup.”

Owing to technical details of how the dual ordinances involved in the rules-changes were structured, a small tweak did end up passing the Assembly: Customers will be able to order cannabis products online or by phone and pick them up in-store with proper identification.