Performance Details
Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development - Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office
Mission
Promote commerce in the licensed alcohol and marijuana industries and provide clear, consistent standards to protect public health and safety.
Core Services
- License and renew all qualified applicants to manufacture and sell alcoholic beverages, and to cultivate, produce, test, and sell marijuana and marijuana products.
- Enforce state laws and regulations governing alcoholic beverage and commercial marijuana establishments.
Mission Results |
Core Services |
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Performance Detail
A: Result -Alcohol and marijuana control results |
A1: Core Service - License and renew all qualified applicants to manufacture and sell alcoholic beverages, and to cultivate, produce, test, and sell marijuana and marijuana products. |
Target #2: Review and authorize marijuana license applications for qualified persons and entities..
The marijuana license application system is an electronic database custom created for the Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office (AMCO) by the department`s information technology team. The database allows applicants to progress through statuses including new, initiated, under review, incomplete, complete, delegated, and active, as well as void, rescinded, tabled, and denied. AMCO"s website also contains application instructions and forms, detailed frequently asked questions, board meeting dates, agenda and board packets, statutes and regulations, and the latest information for both marijuana and alcohol license applicants. All of marijuana licensing is moving to AMCO`s new online licensing portal, AK-ACCIS, in FY2024. There are three license examiners currently assigned to the marijuana program. In FY2023, AMCO continued to process a high volume of new applications, transfer applications, renewal applications, product approvals, and operating change requests. A marijuana license is valid for one year. A high percentage renew their licenses each year, but AMCO has noted a decided decrease in cultivation license renewals. Licensees specifically identify the high marijuana excise tax rate as the reason they do not renew their licenses. Related links: Target Last Modified: 11/30/2023 |
Target #3: Review and authorize alcoholic beverage licenses for qualified persons and entities..
Three licensing examiners are currently dedicated to processing alcoholic beverage license applications and three are currently dedicated to processing marijuana licenses. Target Last Modified: 11/17/2023 |
Target #4: Review and authorize temporary event permits for qualified licensees and entities..
From FY2013 to FY2021, AMCO received an average of 103 event permit applications each month and aims for a three-day turnaround for permit approval and issuance. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and lifted restrictions on gatherings, in FY2022 AMCO"s average monthly permits declined to 96 per month. In FY2023, the number of permitted events returned and exceeded pre-pandemic numbers. Target Last Modified: 11/27/2023 |
A2: Core Service - Enforce state laws and regulations governing alcoholic beverage and commercial marijuana establishments. |
Target #1: Inspect alcohol and marijuana licensees; enforce statutes and regulations.
Challenges will always include in-person inspections by AMCO enforcement in remote areas of the state due to travel expenses. Investigators often use video and pictorial inspections for remote licensees. It is difficult to achieve voluntary compliance with statutes and regulations without being proactive versus reactive. Additionally, AMCO enforcement staff are tasked with enforcing against unlicensed marijuana businesses who present themselves as a licensed establishment and unlicensed alcohol sales. Walk-throughs are compliance assistance visits where investigators perform spot checks, answer licensee questions, and educate licensees on statutory and regulatory compliance. Investigations result from complaints, consumer contacts, licensee reports, and the like, and involve a targeted inquiry into whether or not a statute or regulation has been violated. Notices of Violations (NOV"s) are issued in either program when a violation of statute or regulation has been found to have been committed. Target Last Modified: 11/27/2023 |
Target #2: Review and issue marijuana handler permits for qualified persons..
The marijuana handler permits are valid for three years from the date of the completed training course. In FY2019 the AMCO office started processing renewal applications for handler permits. At the end of FY2023, there were 6,892 active handler permits. Effective training and education guides marijuana handlers through understanding the effects of consumption of marijuana and marijuana products, identifying persons impaired by marijuana, determining valid identification for marijuana sale, how to prevent unlawful sale and consumption of marijuana, and penalties for unlawful acts by licensees, employees, or agents of a marijuana establishment. Target Last Modified: 11/27/2023 |
Last refreshed: 04/22/2024 05:00 pm