Emergency regulation defines 'public' in new marijuana law

Lieutenant Governor Byron Mallott filed an emergency regulation Feb. 24 defining what “in public” means in the Alaska statute that make the consumption,possession, transport and transfer of marijuana legal.

A meno from Mallot’s office reads: “Alaska Statue 17.38.010 expressly makes it unlawful to ‘consume marijuana in public.’ Alaska Statute 17.38.040 defines ‘consumption’ as ‘the act of ingesting, inhaling, or otherwise introducing marijuana into the human body.’ But AS 17.38 does not define ‘in public.’”

“This emergency regulation is necessary to give clear and consistent guidance to persons...