The Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office (AMCO) is the state office that licenses and regulates Alaska's alcohol and marijuana businesses. It staffs the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board and the Marijuana Control Board, reviewing license applications, protests and enforcing Titles 4 and 17.
Photo: Emma Forsberg via Wikimedia Commons · Photo source · CC BY 2.0
commerce.alaska.gov/web/amco ↗
Alaska
State cites Mat-Su marijuana grow for 1,840 tracking violations after finding hundreds of untagged plants
Alaska regulators cite Mat-Su marijuana grow Dope Dynasty for 1,840 METRC plant tracking violations after finding hundreds of untagged plants; case pending.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read
Circle K seeks Anchorage liquor license through a transfer that lists no premises
Circle K Stores Inc. applied to take over a package store license from Alaska Premier Liquor without listing any premises. Approving a memo on the Assembly's Oct. 6 agenda would waive the Assembly's right to protest the transfer.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read
Hideout Lounge liquor license renewal goes to Assembly
Anchorage Assembly consent agenda Oct. 6 includes waiving protest of Al's Alaskan Inn and Hideout Lounge beverage dispensary tourism liquor license renewal.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read
Wasilla pot shop near Knik Charter School surrenders its state license
Shoreline Cannabis near Knik Charter School surrenders Wasilla marijuana license after losing Mat-Su Borough 1,000-foot school buffer case in court.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read
Alaska may stop requiring liquor license applicants to buy newspaper ads as required public notice
A draft regulation would end the requirement that Alaska liquor license applicants buy newspaper advertising or radio spots announcing their application.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min read
Alaska pot shops would have to balance their inventory every single day
A draft Alaska rule would require marijuana retailers and manufacturers to reconcile transactions and inventory against the state tracking system daily at close of business.
by Melinda Communities.News3w ago2 min read
Alaska marijuana board revisits under-21 rules after Craig, Klawock checks failed
The Alaska Marijuana Control Board will review an initial draft of regulations on people under 21 in licensed marijuana premises and restricted access areas at a Zoom-only special meeting Sept. 22. No vote on final adoption is on the agenda.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
State tax office flagged seller of Anchorage cannabis concentrate license as non-compliant
An Anchorage marijuana license transfer went before the state board with a Department of Revenue finding that the seller was not compliant on taxes.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Alaska draft rule would end in-house marijuana testing by growers, manufacturers and stores
A draft regulation from the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development would repeal the in-house testing option for licensed marijuana cultivators and product manufacturers, sending all testing to licensed third-party labs.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Alaska weighs dropping the required training course for marijuana handlers
A draft before the Alaska Marijuana Control Board would repeal the mandatory education course and written test for marijuana handler permits, leaving a criminal background check as the main gate for workers in licensed stores, grows and labs.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Alaska rule would limit cannabinoids to licensed grows, approved hemp
A draft regulation before the Alaska Marijuana Control Board would require every cannabinoid in a marijuana product to come from cannabis grown at a state-licensed cultivation facility, with hemp allowed only if the Division of Agriculture approves it.
by Alaska News1mo ago1 min read
Alaska wants to change how it measures edible pot strength — and some legal products may not pass
Draft language before the Alaska Marijuana Control Board would measure edible potency by total THC rather than active THC or Delta 9, keeping the 10 mg serving and 100 mg package caps but counting more compound toward them.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
A decade in, Alaska's marijuana industry is squeezed by taxes as the state rewrites the rules
Ten years after legalization, Alaska's marijuana industry is under financial strain, with operators owing about $6.3 million in back taxes as the state rewrites its rules.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago3 min read
Marijuana board chair's own store violation goes before the board they chair Sept. 2
AMCO Director Kevin Richard recommends the Alaska Marijuana Control Board vacate a July 15 violation against Green Jar, the retail license held by board Chair Bailey Stuart. The agenda does not say whether Stuart will recuse. Public comment is set for 1 p.m. Sept. 2.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
A grower denied renewal in June is still listed as active, owing $664,440
Alaskasense, LLC has turned up on nearly every monthly Alaska Department of Revenue delinquency report since March 2025, its balance rising from $239,950 to $664,440. State law says a license stays suspended until unpaid taxes are cleared.
by Alaska Newsadded 1mo ago2 min read
Cordova's visitor numbers support 0.03 of a tourism liquor license. Rounded up, that is one.
Copper River Brewing has applied for a seasonal restaurant or eating place tourism license, which would let it admit minors for dining and host live music through September. The Alcoholic Beverage Control Board takes up the application Sept. 1 in Anchorage.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
State note says AMCO wrongly made Metlakatla gather a liquor petition
A staff note in the Metlakatla Indian Community's package store license file says AMCO made the tribe submit a public support petition it did not need, blaming an error in the state licensing database. Five petition documents were filed on Feb. 19 before the error surfaced.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago1 min read
Wasilla golf course seeks state license to serve beer and wine on the course
Nadon Family Home LLC has applied for a golf course license at Sleepy Hollow Golf Course in Wasilla, disclosing it already holds alcohol licenses at Midnight Sun Golf Course and at Sleepy Hollow. The Alcoholic Beverage Control Board takes up the application Sept. 1 in Anchorage.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago1 min read
Four signatures clear a liquor store at a remote Alaska fishing lodge
El Capitan Lodge, a remote fishing lodge off Prince of Wales Island, is seeking a guest-only liquor store, cleared under a rule needing signatures from nearby residents.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
A Craig bakery-cafe wants to pour beer and wine on Friday and Saturday evenings
Tina Steffen, who owns 51% of Craig Bar & Liquor Store Inc., is applying for a beer and wine license and a fenced beer garden at Annie Betty's Bakery-Cafe in Craig. AMCO records show a fee for the alternating premises request unpaid as of Aug. 25.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
An Anchorage restaurant is accused of employing 24 minors without permits
A June 15 notice of violation from the Alcohol & Marijuana Control Office found that 24 employees aged 13 to 17 worked at Little Italy Restaurante in Anchorage between January 2024 and March 2026 without approved state work permits, a minimum of 1,279 violations. The restaurant says it now employs no one under 18.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min read
Anchorage Assembly set to waive protest on six marijuana license renewals
Two resolutions before the Anchorage Municipal Assembly on Tuesday would clear six marijuana license renewals without objection. Separately, AK Legend Gardens drew a conditional protest of its state cultivation license after an Aug. 18 hearing.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Alaska's marijuana board will decide whether to erase a violation against its chair's own store
AMCO Director Kevin Richard recommends the Alaska Marijuana Control Board vacate a $100 unlocked-door violation against Green Jar in Wasilla. State records name Bailey Stuart as both the licensee and the board chair scheduled to preside when the item comes up Sept. 2-3.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago2 min read
Alcohol board denies a second bar at a Wasilla wedding venue
The Alcoholic Beverage Control Board denied a multiple fixed counter endorsement for Doug Massie's Knik Bar & Liquor Store in Wasilla on June 23, finding the statute requires both bars in one building, then voted unanimously to refund his fees.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Undercover investigation found some Craig and Klawock establishmentssold to underage buyers
Employees of three Prince of Wales Island establishments were cited for furnishing alcohol to a person under 21 after an AMCO investigator joined Alaska State Troopers on underage drinking reports, according to an August 26 enforcement memo to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
A Fairbanks man's fourth liquor license reaches the state board Tuesday, with no store attached
Michael Rasmussen, who holds interests in three other Fairbanks-area alcohol licenses, applied Aug. 13 to take over package store license No. 4597 from Scooters Inc. The license has no physical premises. The Fairbanks North Star Borough has 60 days after notice to file a protest.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago1 min read
Anchorage Assembly set to waive protest of Serrano's liquor license renewal
A memorandum before the Anchorage Assembly on Tuesday would waive the municipality's right to protest the beverage dispensary license renewal for Serrano's Mexican Grill on East Tudor Road, days before the Sept. 8 deadline under state law.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Alaska lawmakers weigh whether to keep boards licensing dentists and barbers
The Alaska Legislative Budget and Audit Committee released final sunset audits Thursday for the boards licensing dentists, chiropractors, barbers and hairdressers, plus the Statewide Suicide Prevention Council, and sent preliminary audits of the Board of Marine Pilots and Marijuana Control Board to those agencies for response.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
A decade after Alaskans legalized weed, the industry is thinning out
A decade after Alaska legalized marijuana, the industry is contracting as tax revenue falls and growers don't renew licenses, squeezed by a cultivation tax from higher-price years.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
A Muldoon pot shop passed city rules, but a tribal youth program cites stricter state rules
A proposed Muldoon Road marijuana store cleared Anchorage's separation rules, but Cook Inlet Tribal Council says a stricter state youth-center buffer should block it, as the Assembly weighs the permit.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read
One owner moves to take full control of a Midtown Anchorage cannabis operation
Yotam Levi would take full ownership of a Midtown Anchorage marijuana grow, manufacturing facility and retail store under transfer applications before the state board in September.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
A missing health certification is holding up the Homestead Lounge's liquor license transfer
A missing Anchorage Health Department certification would hold up the sale of the liquor license at The Homestead Lounge in Eagle River. The Anchorage Assembly holds a public hearing Tuesday, its last regular meeting before a Sept. 5 protest deadline.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Every Craig and Klawock business checked failed an underage sting
Every bar and dispensary checked in Craig and Klawock sold alcohol or marijuana to an underage decoy, Alaska troopers said, as the state shifts enforcement off the road system.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min read
Anchorage Assembly set to approve transfer of three marijuana licenses to sole ownership at one address
The Anchorage Assembly is scheduled to vote Monday on a resolution approving the transfer of three co-located marijuana licenses at 5200 A Street to sole ownership by Yotam Levi, collapsing a seven-person ownership group; the July 21 meeting is the last before a July 28 protest deadline.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Anchorage operator seeks renewal of four marijuana licenses across two sites
Eun Lee, designated licensee for both YNY Investment LLC and SHFT LLC, filed 2026-2028 biennial renewal applications with AMCO for four Anchorage marijuana establishments; the Municipality has until late July to protest, and the public objection window may already be closed.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
One Anchorage restaurant keeps getting caught serving with expired cards
Alaska's alcohol office cited six bars and restaurants for expired server-education cards. One Anchorage restaurant has been flagged five times in four years, risking its license.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
A Spenard Pot Shop Changes Hands as Anchorage's Market Cools
AM Delight on Spenard Road would become Shoreline Cannabis under a pending ownership transfer, as Anchorage's cannabis tax revenue and crowded retail market both cool.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
A New El Green-Go's Is Coming to East Anchorage
The Anchorage Assembly must act by July 21, 2026 — the last regular meeting before the deadline — or permanently lose its right to protest a new restaurant eating place license for El Green-Go's at 5305 E Northern Lights Blvd.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Two Things Worth Watching at the Marijuana Board
Alaska's Marijuana Control Board meets June 24–25 in Fairbanks to weigh a Good Cannabis license transfer with prior violations and growers' complaints about hemp-THC.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
A Hoonah Corporation Quietly Builds a Cruise Empire
Huna Totem Corporation, Hoonah's Alaska Native village corporation, seeks liquor licenses for two cruise vessels — the latest step in its expanding Native-owned tourism empire.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read