In this Jan. 18, 2017 photo shows Giono Barrett, right, arranges marijuana products at Rainforest Farms in Juneau, Alaska. James Barrett, left, is co-owner of Juneau's first marijuana retail store. James and Giono Barrett have a dream: that some of the scores of cruise ship passengers who crowd the streets of the state capital each summer will one day use their shore excursions to kick back and light up a joint in a pot store's lounge. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
The Associated Press
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - Thousands of cruise ship passengers could soon be getting a different taste of Alaska this summer.
The state's marijuana regulators will meet Thursday to consider letting pot retail stores allow onsite consumption.
Critics fear either an Amsterdam-like scene or marijuana use spilling into alleys, parks and trails since visitors can't take the drug back onto the cruise ships. They hope the state pot board puts in place restrictions to keep it from happening.
Chris Lindsey, a senior legislative counsel with the Marijuana Policy Project, says the Alaska provision is the first time this has been addressed at the state level. Recreational marijuana is legal in eight states and the District of Columbia.
Denver is considering licenses for marijuana social clubs and allowing places like coffee shops and art galleries to allow consumption, and there are some other social clubs outside Denver.
This Jan. 19, 2017, photo shows Alaska Marijuana Control Board member Loren Jones posing for a photo at the docks in Juneau, Alaska. State marijuana regulators will meet Feb. 2 to decide whether to allow retail marijuana stores to allow onsite consumption. Jones believes operators expecting to make good money off tourists are being unrealistic. He said so many states have legal marijuana now, it's silly to think people would take a cruise to Alaska just to get pot. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
The Associated Press
This Jan. 23, 2017 photo shows the Leah Levinton, left, and her brother Evan Levinton, co-owners of Enlighten Alaska, a marijuana retail store in Anchorage, Alaska, planning for the store's opening. Leah Levinton envisions an Anchorage "green light district," where scores of tourists come on buses to try the offerings at four retail stores in the city's Spenard neighborhood. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
The Associated Press
This Jan. 18, 2017 photo shows marijuana including the store's best-seller, Gorilla Glue, available for sale at Rainforest Farms, owned by James and Giono Barrett in Juneau, Alaska. The Barrett brothers have a dream: that some of the scores of cruise ship passengers who crowd the streets of the state capital each summer will one day use their shore excursions to kick back and light up a joint in a pot store's lounge. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)
The Associated Press