ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Evan Levinton started growing marijuana when he was a teenager living in Anchorage as a way to save money. As an adult, he traveled to California to perfect the craft. When legalization came to Alaska, he’d learned enough about the marijuana industry to start one of the city’s most successful grows and retail shops with his family.
His family business has been a leader in the industry since legalization and has seized on the trends that most suggest needed to be accomplished to continue to be a successful marijuana business in the future. Along with vertical integration, the business is focusing on edibles and healthier ways people are consuming marijuana. There is also the question of how the state collects taxes and how will federally-legalized marijuana impact the local economy.
Enlighten Alaska is one of more than 150 currently operating retail marijuana shops in the state, according to license records from the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development.Enlighten says the industry is changing and so are consumer habits.