Cannabis businesses in the borough outside the cities can continue operations as usual with the failure of Kenai Peninsula Borough Proposition 1, according to Tuesday’s unofficial election results.
Not counting absentee ballots, the proposition, which asked whether commercial cannabis operations should be legal in the borough outside city limits, failed by a landslide on Tuesday — more than 64 percent of the voters in the borough opposed it, with about 36 percent supporting it.
The defeat was a victory for the cannabis industry and its supporters, organized as the Keep Cannabis Legal campaign, which has been heavily advocating against Proposition 1 for about a year.
Unofficial results show all three borough propositions failing. Proposition 2 asked voters if the borough could issue up to $5 million in bonds to pay for repairs to the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system in the George A. Navarre Borough Administration Building, and Proposition 3 asked if the borough should raise the cap on taxable sales from $500 to $1,000.
Read the full story by the Peninsula Clarion.
Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly candidate Duane Bannock whistles while waving to cars at the intersection of the Kenai Spur Highway and Bridge Acess Road on election day, Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly candidate Duane Bannock waves to cars at the intersection of the Kenai Spur Highway and Bridge Acess Road on election day, Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ben Boettger/Peninsula Clarion)
Aveline Russell, 2, shows off the sticker she got after going to Soldotna City Hall to vote with her family Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017 in Soldotna, Alaska. Soldotna residents on Tuesday voted on two city council members and a mayor, all unopposed candidates, on one of three candidates for Kenai Peninsula Borough mayor and on two of the three borough propositions. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
Toby Monroe of Soldotna holds out the paper he received after voting explaining why he was not able to vote on Kenai Peninsula Borough Proposition 1 on Tuesday in Soldotna. Proposition 1 asks voters outside the incorporated cities whether commercial cannabis operations should be legal in the borough outside the cities, but only voters registered outside city limits could vote on it. Soldotna residents on Tuesday voted on two city council members and a mayor, all unopposed candidates, on one of three candidates for Kenai Peninsula Borough mayor and on two of the three borough propositions. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
Ann Fraser (left) and Steve Waldron (right), both of Kasilof) wave signs opposing Kenai Peninsula Borough Proposition 1 on the corner of Pollard Loop and the Sterling Highway on Tuesday in Kasilof. Voters in Kasilof and the other unincorporated communities of the borough voted Tuesday on Proposition 1, which asked whether commercial cannabis operations should be legal in the borough outside the city limits. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
Voters stand in privacy booths inside Soldotna City Hall on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
