JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Regulators amid much fanfare last year approved two cannabis lounges in Alaska. The move made the state one of the few where customers would be allowed to use marijuana at retail pot shops. Then the pandemic hit. An owner of one of the shops hopes to open later this year. An owner of the other says his site opened briefly last fall before having to hit pause amid a surge in Alaska COVID-19 cases. Records show a small number of other shop owners have filed paperwork signaling plans to seek approval for consumption hangouts. But the pandemic has caused some of them to delay their efforts too.
