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US: Sessions' decision on legal cannabis drives out chief of Alaska Marijuana Control Board Erin Granger Newsminer Saturday 06 Jan 2018 Mlynarik said he resigned because of Sessions’ decision, among other reasons, and said he thinks changes in regulations remove the legal foundation for Alaska’s marijuana industry. “Marijuana was never legal federally, but with the Cole Memo, it gave businesses and institutions a little more freedom. It essentially said this isn’t necessarily a priority as long as business is being conducted in a responsible way,” Mlynarik said in an interview Friday. “Sessions’ decision certainly removed those assurances.” Mlynarik said that, though a reason for the regulation crackdown was left unclear by the Department of Justice, he is sure one exists. “There was some reason they were removed, otherwise they would have stayed in place,” Mlynarik said. “I don’t know if it was just to give state U.S. attorneys the ability to have more latitude in the area or what.” For the past five years, Mlynarik has been chief of police for the community of Soldotna. With the change in cannabis regulation, he said, continuing work on the board could interfere with his police duties. “Especially because I’m in public safety and law enforcement, those memos kind of were there as a way to still be on the board and work with it and not have fear that the feds were going to come down on you,” Mlynarik said. “But they basically said we don’t recognize that anymore, so I don’t feel as much protection in that position.” The change in memorandums was not the only reason for Mlynarik’s resignation. “The other reason I mentioned before was because of the situation with the two labs — the inconsistencies in the testing results on the same product,” Mlynarik said. “I found that was disconcerting.” Mlynarik said he’s not sure how much progress has been made on investigating the testing discrepancies found in several labs across the state. But he said a committee has been created to look into the problem. Those labs found to have testing inconsistencies could be subject to individual audit. “This shows the consumer doesn’t really know how much THC is in a product because of the discrepancies in the lab results, which can be pretty dangerous,” he said. “It’s definitely a concern for the public.” Mlynarik said he’s not sure what will happen to the marijuana industry in Alaska now that the memos discouraging federal interference with state laws are gone. “That’s up to the governor and Legislature to figure out what to do now,” he said. “It’ll be interesting to see.” Contact staff writer Erin Granger at 459-7544. Follow her on Twitter:@FDNMPolitics http://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/sessions-decision-on-legal-cannabis-drives-out-chief-of-alaska/article_97cad78e-f2b0-11e7-b8fb-4f979df16fc1.html
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