Alaska Man Monday - Students, Wacky Tobacky and Wishes

Summer will be here before we know it, and this time of year is marked not only by the singing of our spring birds but also by the buzzing of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). These things are ubiquitous up here, folks use them for everything from hunting and fishing to bumming around on the side roads and trails. We have two, a big Polaris Ranger that will seat six (if they aren't very big and are on exceptionally good terms) and a Polaris 570 with the hunting package. They're great fun, and it's always great when you get the first nice day to get them out and go for a ride.

We have a mixed bag for you this week. We've got some politicians in training, and while the tourist season hasn’t exactly started yet, if you’re planning a visit and are interested, we can bring you some advice on where to catch a legal Alaska buzz. And finally, sometimes, dreams do come true.

And, finally, yes, beards.

Matanuska-Susitna students get some lessons in politics.

I’m guessing this isn’t a leftist indoctrination. Not in the Mat-Su.

It’s government at its most local level, as students from around 14 different borough schools gave school reports on current events and issues they’re facing — overseen by the board’s advisor and civics teacher at the tech school, Kristi Shea.
“I walked into just a really cohesive group of kids,” Shea said. “I think we have a pretty good representation of the student body in the Mat-Su.”
Seated next to Schachle was Student Advisory Board Representative Ben Kolendo, a now-familiar name within the district after the MSBSD school board voted in favor of changing BP 9110 which limited student representation at school board meetings. The action drew crowds of students to protest the decision.
In a statement emailed Tuesday afternoon from the Mat-Su school district, Superintendent Randy Trani said the district still supports student government in several ways.

Now, the article doesn’t give any specific policy statements from the kids, but I can tell you that the Mat-Su is a pretty conservative area, in the Alaska sense, with a heavy dose of “leave us alone” sentiment.

Alaska Man score: 3.5 of 5 moose nuggets. Credit for exposing kids to the sausage factory; demerits for exposing kids to the sausage factory.

Yes, it’s legal in Alaska. Yes, tourists might be interested in it. So here’s a guide to legal cannabis in the Great Land.

Alaska has long had permissive rules when it comes to cannabis, but following a 2014 ballot initiative, the state fully legalized recreational consumption for anyone 21 and older. That includes tourists, as long as you can provide a valid government ID. Cannabis is regulated more or less like alcohol, so if you’re wondering whether something is legal or not, ask yourself: “Would I get in trouble doing this with an open beer or spiked seltzer in my hand?”
The big caveat is that Alaska has almost no equivalent to bars or restaurants for pot. With the exception of one establishment in Fairbanks, Good Titrations, there are no “pot cafes” or easy commercial locations in which to light up.

That’s the “Why.” Here’s the “Where.”

Most cities and towns in Alaska have cannabis retail shops, and they are rarely hard to locate. The state has the highest number of retailers per capita of any in the union (take that, Oregon!). If you’re in population centers like Anchorage, Juneau or Fairbanks, you should have no problem finding a number of reputable, high-quality retailers. Even smaller towns that tend to see lots of summer tourists and cruise-ship passengers have multiple well-stocked businesses with a full range of products.
This is not the case in small, rural, primarily Indigenous communities, some of which have bans on cannabis commerce as they do with alcohol. Most of those remote towns and villages do not have pot shops, and may explicitly prohibit bringing such substances in.

I suppose they’re taking advantage of Alaska’s healthy tourist season to be… unhealthy. Here's the really amazing thing; one Alaska town that (last I was through there, anyway) lacks a legal cannabis outlet is the east-central town of Tok, pronounced "toke." You'd think if there were one town that would have a pot shop, it would be Tok.

Alaska Man score: 2.25 of 5 moose nuggets. Credit for free enterprise; demerits for trying to attract more tourists.

And finally: It’s a heart-warming thing when a child has a dream come true, and Alaskan kids can use all the warming they can get. Wasilla’s Tristan Gunnell got his wish, thanks to Make-A-Wish Alaska. Tristan has been fighting brain cancer, and the good folks at Make-A-Wish made sure he got to go to Disneyland.

When Tristan was awarded a Make-A-Wish trip, he set his sights on Disneyland — during its spooky season.
The California visit helped take the family’s mind off of the heaviness of everything.
“Every now and then, it would kind of hit you in the quiet moments why you were there but it didn’t hit you in a bad way,” Kyle said. “You know, there was a lot of relief in it.”
“It’s just something special that nobody can ever take away from us and Make-A-Wish made that happen,” Andrea added.
The road to recovery hasn’t been easy for Tristan. In October 2023, doctors found more cancerous spots and Tristan’s still undergoing treatment at Providence Hospital. But he and his family are in good spirits.

Alaska Man score: 5 of 5 moose nuggets. Our best wishes to Tristan and his family. And thanks to the Make-A-Wish Alaska folks.

Alaska’s a different kind of place. We look out for one another.

Now, the thing about Alaska and beards. Yes, really. Most of the guys in Alaska have beards. Here's why.