The City of Homer may have its first marijuana cultivation facility next December. Dan Coglianese and Janiese Stevens, owners of Alaska Loven It, applied for a standard marijuana cultivation license to operate out of a 5,000 square foot building on Kachemak Drive.
Coglianese said they’re aiming to offer better quality cannabis than other facilities by testing out their product out before selling it.
“We have a long way to go to actually refine the genetics that we're growing,” he said. “I've got thousands of plants to start and run before I end up with my product that I want the public to have.”
He doesn't believe the recent rollback of the Cole Memo, a directive that told federal prosecutors to not focus on those in the legal marijuana business, would mean more policing of his facility.
“It doesn’t worry me in a way that I think that the feds are going to come taking down our doors and take this stuff away from us," he said.
Coglianese has been working on this project for 14 months and said he’s more worried about getting the license. The Homer City Council will review the 120-page application on Monday. But the facility has already drawn complaints.
According to a memo from Homer Police Chief Mark Robl, the Marijuana Control Board received a complaint about odors coming from the building. An officer was dispatched to the facility and found 24 plants. Robl said growing plants before Coglianese's application is accepted could be a violation but that will be up to the board. They are set to consider the application later next week.
