Wrangell cannabis grower drew seven state tax notices before its 2025 renewal review

Happy Cannabis, a marijuana grower in Wrangell, received seven state notices over unpaid excise tax in seven months. The Marijuana Control Board then voted in February 2025 to deny its license renewal unless it paid the back taxes within 60 days or got on a payment plan, according to the board's minutes.

The Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office (AMCO) issued the notices between July 2023 and February 2024. Each said the cultivation facility at 225 South Front Street was delinquent on its marijuana excise tax. Each gave 30 days to settle with the Department of Revenue. The cited penalties climbed: the Nov. 29, 2023, notice cited a request for suspension and/or a fine up to $30,000, and the Jan. 3, 2024, notice cited revocation and/or a fine up to $50,000. Two more were labeled a fourth and a fifth violation.

A Jan. 24, 2025, AMCO memo to the board on the license renewal listed seven notices of violation. It recorded no protest from the City and Borough of Wrangell, no objections and no staff questions for the board.

The vote was unanimous and let the office's director renew the license once the condition was met. The records reviewed do not show whether the license was then renewed.