Adopted Regulations of the Marijuana Control Board Filed by Lt. Governor - Quality Control - Eff. 12.25.2020

The Marijuana Control Board has amended its regulations regarding quality control. Below are the regulations affected, the bold and underlined is the new text.
3 AAC 306.460. (a) A marijuana cultivation facility may provide a free sample of marijuana to a retail marijuana store if packaged in a sample jar containing not more than three and one-half grams of marijuana and protected by a plastic or metal mesh screen to allow the retail marijuana store to smell the product before purchase.(b) A marijuana cultivation facility may provide a free sample of marijuana to a retail marijuana store or marijuana product manufacturing facility as follows:      (1) a sample provided for the purpose of negotiating a sale may be not more than one ounce;      (2) a marijuana cultivation facility may not provide any one licensed retail marijuana store or marijuana product manufacturing facility with more than one ounce of marijuana per month free-of-charge for the purpose of negotiating a sale.(c)

A retail marijuana store that receives a marijuana sample may not sell the marijuana sample to a customer, and shall either     (1) return the marijuana sample to the marijuana cultivation facility that provided the sample; or     (2) destroy the marijuana sample after use and document the destruction in the retail marijuana store's marijuana inventory control system.(d) A marijuana cultivation facility may provide a sample of marijuana
grown at that facility to an employee of the facility, who is in possession of a valid marijuana handler card for the purpose of quality control only if     (1) samples provided to employees for quality control do not exceed a cumulative total of one ounce per 30-day period;     (2) each sample is registered and tracked using the marijuana inventory tracking system in accordance with 3 AAC 306.730;      (3) consumption of marijuana does not occur on the licensed premises;      (4) no sample provided under this subsection is sold or given to another licensee or consumer;      (5) each employee who receives a marijuana sample for the purpose of quality control completes a quality control form approved by the board for each sample;      (6) the licensee maintains copies of completed forms required under (5) of this subsection in accordance with 3 AAC 306.755;        (7) samples that leave the licensed premises are packaged in opaque, resealable, child-resistant packaging and clearly marked or labeled “For Quality Control” and the packaging is designed or constructed to be significantly difficult for children under five years of age to open, but not normally difficult for adults to use properly;
and     
(8)  each sample is tested under 3 AAC 306.455 and 3 AAC 306.645 before being provided to an employee under this subsection.
3 AAC 306.557. Quality control sampling. A marijuana product manufacturing facility may provide a sample of marijuana concentrate or other marijuana product
manufactured at that facility to an employee of the facility, who is in possession of a valid marijuana handler card for the purpose of quality control only if
     (1) samples provided to employees for quality control do not exceed a cumulative total set out in 3 AAC 306.355 in a 30-day period;      (2) each sample is registered and tracked using the marijuana inventory tracking system in accordance with 3 AAC 306.730;      (3) consumption of marijuana does not occur on the licensed premises;      (4) no sample provided under this section is sold or given to another licensee or consumer;      (5) each employee who receives a marijuana sample for the purpose of quality control completes a quality control form approved by the board for each sample;      (6) the licensee maintains copies of completed forms required under (5) of this subsection in accordance with 3 AAC 306.755; and      (7) samples that leave the licensed premises are packaged in opaque, resealable, child-resistant packaging and clearly marked or labeled “For Quality Control” and the packaging is designed or constructed to be significantly difficult for children under five years of age to open, but not normally difficult for adults to use properly.    
(8)  each sample is tested under 3 AAC 306.445 and 3 AAC 306.550 before being provided to an employee under this section.
The Lieutenant Governor signed and filed the regulation on November 25, 2020, with an effective date of
December 25, 2020.
The regulations will appear in Register 236, January 2021, of the Alaska Administrative Code. Moreover, updated regulations reflecting these changes will be available on our website on December 25, 2020.
Jane P. Sawyer, Regulations Specialist
Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office
550 W. 7th Avenue, Suite 1600
Anchorage, AK 99501
907-269-0490