Cannabis industry rolls along despite pandemic

Cannabis industry rolls along despite pandemic

The marijuana industry, and its tax revenue, have remained solid during the pandemic

As Gov. Mike Dunleavy looks to get the state’s economic engines running again, one industry has continued to be a reliable source of tax revenue through the COVID-19 crisis.

Alaska’s cannabis businesses were designated an essential service, which allowed businesses to remain open while others were forced to close, and sales have remained steady, according to Lacy Wilcox, president of the Alaska Marijuana Industry Association.

“We’re doing OK, we’re figuring stuff out just like everybody,” Wilcox said Monday. “I don’t think spike is a word that we would use. Mostly flat. There’s noticeable jumps near any kind of payday, but that’s normal.”

By law, all of Alaska’s marijuana product must come from and remain in the state, meaning growers, manufacturers and retailers are all still operating and paying taxes. Growers and manufacturers pay taxes to the state while retailers pay taxes to their local municipality, said Kelly Mazzei, excise tax manager for the Alaska Department of Revenue.

[Talkin’ pot shop: Onsite consumption gets new attention]

Cannabis industry taxes have not only been steady, Mazzei said, they’ve been growing.

“We’re taking on new taxpayers all the time,” Mazzei said. “Lots of new cultivation facility licenses are being approved, same thing for production and retail. There’s still licensing being approved, we’re definitely seeing our tax revenue increase.”

Monthly tax numbers aren’t yet available for March, but in February the state took in $1.7 million in taxes and in all of 2020 has taken in more than $15 million. That money is only 25% of the total tax revenue from cannabis, according to Mazzei, the rest goes to recidivism and marijuana education programs, she said.

But it’s not all flowers for the cannabis industry. Because marijuana is still illegal federally, cannabis companies are not eligible for federal or state aid programs.

“You can’t get passed the first couple of questions,” Wilcox said of the application forms for relief programs. One of the first questions asks if the business is involved with a federally illegal substance, she said.

State and local programs, too, were off the table.

“They’re administered through financial institutions (banks),” Wilcox said, which can’t do business with the still-federally illegal marijuana industry. “Cannabis and banks so far haven’t been able to dance together.”

[Bill could change the way Southeast cannabis businesses work]

The Dunleavy administration has taken some steps to make things easier for cannabis, Wilcox said. Certain regulations have been lifted which have taken some of the burden off of the industry, particularly when it comes to transportation.

“If a grower in Juneau sells to a retailer in Anchorage, they have to carry the product with that person,” Wilcox said. “There has to be personal delivery of product.”

That rule has been lifted, according to Wilcox, along with some other rules and regulations about transporting cannabis.

“The state Marijuana Control Board debated emergency rules that would mitigate spread of COVID-19, we are very grateful for that, they’ve done good work,” Wilcox said.

Lt. Gov. Kevin Meyer singed an emergency measure on Friday which will allow for curbside pickup of cannabis. Those transactions will still have to follow all the rules governing cannabis sales, such as video surveillance of the sale.

But just because the industry was allowed to stay open, that doesn’t mean individual businesses aren’t struggling, Wilcox said. Cannabis businesses still face the same problems faced by many others, but they don’t have the relief funds there to prop them up if they run into trouble, according to Wilcox.

“We seem to be doing OK,” Wilcox said. “We have other issues that we struggle with; No relief funding, no banking. We’re used to fighting hard and we’re used to being scrappy and resourceful.”

• Contact reporter Peter Segall at psegall@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @SegallJnoEmpire.

More in News

A male sea otter pup, estimated at 2 weeks old, was rescued near Homer and admitted to the Alaska SeaLife Center rehabilitation program on June 23, 2025, in Seward, Alaska. Photo courtesy of the Alaska SeaLife Center
Seward’s SeaLife Center admits 2 seal pups, 1 orphaned otter

The three pups join the Alaska SeaLife Center’s ‘growing’ patient list

Alaska Seaplane pilot Vance Tilley stands in front of the Piatus PC-12 in Klawock on June 23 during the inaugural trip of the new service between Juneau, Ketchikan and Klawock. (Photos by Gemini Waltz Media/courtesy Alaska Seaplane)
New Juneau-Ketchikan nonstop flight service launches

The flight leaves Juneau at 3:45 p.m., and the trip lasts 1 hour 25 minutes

Danial Roberts, an employee at Viking Lumber Company, looks out at lumber from a forklift in Klawock, Alaska. (Courtesy of Viking Lumber Company)
Threads of the Tongass: The future of pianos and the timber industry

Timber operators say they are in crisis and unique knowledge, products will be lost

Suicide Basin as of 10:01 a.m. on Thursday, July 10, 2025, taken by a U.S. Geological Survey camera at the basin entrance facing northeast, into the basin. (Screenshot from National Weather Service Juneau page)
Glacial lake outburst swells Salmon River near Hyder

The isolation of Salmon River limits the impact of flooding

Kahyl Dybdahl, left, and Bronze Chevis eat an egg sandwich breakfast before school at Dzantik’i Heeni Middle School on Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2017. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
School board allocates extra state funds

More state funds available, but funding issues and federal uncertainty abound

Max Webster stands with Lemon Creek Correctional Center staff in front of new control tower on Tuesday, July 9, 2025. (Natalie Buttner / Juneau Empire)
A towering accomplishment for new Eagle Scout

Max Webster honored at Firearms Training Center Control Tower ribbon-cutting ceremony

Andy Engstrom (left) uses bitcoin to buy lemonade and cookies from business owner Denali Schijvens (right) on Saturday, July 5, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Alaska’s 1st Bitcoin conference held in Juneau

State leaders discuss integrating Bitcoin in Alaska energy, investment and universities

Most Read