By Becky Bohrer, Associated Press

JUNEAU, Alaska — The board tasked with writing rules for Alaska’s recreational marijuana industry backtracked Tuesday and adopted stricter residency requirements for applicants for pot business licenses.

The Marijuana Control Board scuttled a rule adopted last month that would use the residency requirements needed to vote in Alaska in favor of using the more stringent standards needed to qualify for the yearly check from Alaska’s oil wealth fund.

During a meeting Tuesday in Anchorage the board approved using the residency requirements for the Permanent Fund Dividend, which include being a resident of the state for a full calendar year.

As state and municipal lawmakers draw nearer to finalizing regulations, Marijuana Control Board chairman Bruce Schulte has recommended that marijuana entrepreneurs start preparing soon for license applications.

Schulte said aspiring marijuana business owners should prioritize forming a business plan, finding a location, and reading the entire regulations package.

"They're going to want to choose their real estate very carefully, particularly in Anchorage," says Schulte. "As in other communities, there may be other local zoning issues they want to take into account."

The Marijuana Control Board will meet again to take a look at Alaska residency requirements after an 11th-hour change to its rules was met with shock and concern by both the state and industry supporters.

On Dec. 1, the board “will discuss and may amend residency requirements” that were adopted last week, the board announced in an email. 

While marijuana businesses must be 100 percent Alaska-owned, on Friday the board changed the definition of what it takes to qualify as an Alaskan. 

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Joining Oregon, Washington D.C. and Colorado, Alaska became the fourth legal state in the nation to legalize recreational marijuana for adult use this year.

Starting from the age of 21 and older, adults may possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana and grow up to six plants, all for recreational and personal purposes. That was made possible by Alaska voters approving Measure 2, which legalizes possession, use and sale of pot.

Public smoking, buying and selling remains illegal, but private exchanges are allowed if and only if money is not involved.  U.S. president Barack Obama's justice department has permitted this to proceed but with caution, since selling marijuana to children has become probable, as well as people under the influence driving their vehicle.

The board tasked with writing rules for Alaska’s recreational marijuana industry voted Friday to allow for people to use pot at certain stores that will sell it, a first among the four states that have legalized the drug.

The 3-2 vote by the Marijuana Control Board also changed the definition of the term “in public” to allow for consumption at some pot shops, none of which are open yet. Colorado, Washington and Oregon have legalized recreational marijuana but ban its public use, including in pot stores.

“This would put, I think, Alaska in the forefront on this issue,” said Chris Lindsey, a legislative analyst with the Marijuana Policy Project.

The products will be available next year in the four U.S. states where cannabis use is legal, namely Colorado, Washington, OR and Alaska.

The 27-year-old, who is set to release her highly-anticipated eighth studio album, has made no secret of indulging in cannabis and has been an open supporter of its legalization.

Her line will reportedly include strains of Karibbean Kush, Haitian Haze and Jamaican High Grade and will also include edibles and concentrates. “MaRihanna is blazing a trail for the industry”.

While speaking at a cannabis convention in Negril, Jamaica this week, Rihanna announced her new line of marijuana, according to a reggae website covering the event.

Alaska is on track to be the first state in the nation to allow recreational use of cannabis at venues similar to a bar or a cafe.  In its Friday meeting, the state’s Marijuana Control Board adopted an amendment creating a permit option that will allow for on-site consumption. The measure opens the door for commercial marijuana retailers to set up areas where patrons can use marijuana products. Theresa Collins owns Anchorage business Pot Luck Events, which won a victory with the board’s ruling on the measure, as well as another amendment lifting a ban on marijuana clubs.

The Marijuana Control Board voted to allow consumption of marijuana at retail stores, which, if approved by Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott, would make Alaska the first state to permit a regulated area for marijuana consumption outside of a person’s home or other private spaces.

The change allows for people to buy marijuana at a retail store and consume it in a designated area on the premises. 

The board voted 3-2 in favor of the amendment, with Loren Jones, public health board member, and Peter Mlynarik, the public safety board member, dissenting.

The regulations will go to the Department of Law for a formal review before heading to Mallott's desk.

The board tasked with writing rules for Alaska's recreational marijuana industry voted Friday to allow for people to use pot at certain stores that will sell it, a first among the four states that have legalized the drug.

The 3-2 vote by the Marijuana Control Board also changed the definition of the term "in public" to allow for consumption at some pot shops, none of which are open yet. Colorado, Washington and Oregon have legalized recreational marijuana but ban its public use, including in pot stores.

"I look on the national scene and think, wow, of all things to be fighting over and battling over."

Supporters of marijuana legalization may have an unlikely ally: Sarah Palin.

Breaking with many members of her party who oppose legalizing marijuana, the former Alaska governor and 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee on Thursday said it is "no big deal" and argued that it should not be a controversial issue.

"I look on the national scene and think, wow, of all things to be fighting over and battling over, especially when it comes to medical marijuana. I think, hmm, this is just not my baby," Palin told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt.