Marijuana businesses could add up to $5M per year to Alaskan peninsula’s economy

Marijuana businesses could  add up to $5M per year to Alaskan peninsula’s economy

KENAI, Alaska With several marijuana businesses up and running on the Kenai Peninsula in south-central Alaska, industry estimates show the businesses could contribute $5.3 million annually to the local economy.

Eight marijuana businesses have opened on the peninsula since last summer and nine more are planned. Of those businesses, two are retail stores and the rest are cultivators, The Peninsula Clarion reported.

Dollynda Phelps of cultivation company Peace Frog Botanicals presented a survey of current licensees to the Kenai Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday. The survey estimating the impact of the Kenai Peninsula Boroughs cannabis industry shows businesses could bring the peninsula more than $5 million annually in taxes and spending on infrastructure and compliance.

The peninsulas two retail stores may generate about $218,000 in sales taxes each year that will go toward borough schools, Phelps said.

Every single penny generated from this sales tax in the borough goes directly to the borough school district, she said. So I think this is a wonderful number, and of course this will rise as well as we see more growth in the industry.

The Kenai Peninsulas marijuana businesses have also created 46 jobs, and another 30 employees are expected to be hired in the upcoming year, according to the survey.

The peninsulas Peace Frog Botanicals and Greatland Ganja were two of the first pot businesses in the state to get their licenses. Their products are being sold in a variety of ...

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