An Anchorage marijuana grower has to pay its back taxes before it can keep growing

An Anchorage marijuana cultivator owes the city about $12,761 in unpaid taxes — and until it pays, it can't fully renew the license that lets it grow.

The Anchorage Assembly voted this week to formally hold up the renewal of AK Legend Gardens' cultivation license until the grower clears its tax debt and passes a city site inspection. It's not a denial: the state can still approve the license, but the Assembly is directing that the paperwork be frozen until the money is paid. The city first flagged the unpaid taxes in mid-July and gave the business a week to settle up; that deadline came and went.

The city has played this card before. It has held up liquor licenses for four Fred Meyer stores over unpaid municipal taxes, and last December the state marijuana board went further with another grower, denying Alaskasense's renewal over unpaid excise taxes and giving it 10 days to surrender the license.

For AK Legend, the path back is straightforward: pay the taxes, pass the inspection, and the hold lifts on its own — no further Assembly action needed. Most of the city's departments have already signed off on the renewal; it's the finance and land-use offices that haven't. The timing gives the grower some room, but not unlimited: the Assembly's last chance to file its protest with the state before its deadline was this week's meeting.