Public marijuana usage ordinance in Anchorage postponed indefinitely

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August 28 2025

The Anchorage Assembly indefinitely postponed an ordinance after a public hearing Tuesday night related to marijuana consumption in the municipality.

The ordinance, introduced by East Anchorage representative George Martinez, would allow “onsite consumption of marijuana by smoking or any method in licensed retail marijuana establishments,” so long as they have an endorsement that is consistent with Alaska state law.

Ultimately, in a 7-3 vote, the Assembly voted to postpone the ordinance indefinitely.

At the public testimony, Assembly members had a spirited debate over the ordinance, with Martinez calling for continued debate on the matter because the state has rules in place that serve as guidelines for municipalities to follow.

“The state has fully developed strict rules for on-site consumption including, and all the way through, inhalation ... with requirements for ventilation, employee protections and separate areas from retail,” Martinez said.

Members of the community who had concerns with the proposal took issue with concerns about smoking indoors and cancer-causing chemicals within smoke.

“It is clinically proven that cigarette and vaping smoke contain cancer-causing chemicals,” Don Enslow stated in his testimony. “Secondhand marijuana smoke contains many of the same cancer-causing substances and toxic chemicals as secondhand tobacco smoke.

“Furthermore, ventilation systems cannot eliminate the health harms from secondhand smoke exposure.”

Before the public hearing, Alaska’s News Source hit the city to speak with residents about their feelings towards the proposed ordinance.

“There’s nothing wrong with having a public-facing space because people are already out there doing it anyways, so you might as well do it somewhere where it’s contained and safe,” Debra Jay said.

Other individuals in Anchorage were strongly against the idea.

“I’m not okay with it,” Scott Barnett said. “There are places I’ve gone to, I’ve gone to Vancouver, British Columbia, I’ve been down in Florida and New York. I got friends … what they’re being horrified by is that there are places they can no longer walk, especially with their kids, because all the stuff is out in the air and their kids are being exposed to all of this stuff.”