(NPR stock photo)

In two weeks, recreational marijuana use will become legal in Alaska. Voters’ move to regulate the drug like alcohol has left towns like Unalaska scrambling to get rules in place ahead of legalization day.

City council will take a first look on Tuesday at an ordinance prohibiting marijuana use in public places. Those are defined as “any area to which the public is invited or into which the public is permitted,” including bars, stores, tidelands and any city-owned property.

The proposed regulation sets a $100 fine for people who do use marijuana in public, and says property owners can create other restrictions if they choose. It also sets fines for business owners who allow unlawful marijuana use on their properties.

The ordinance prohibits people under 21 years old from using the drug. And it limits the number of marijuana plants a resident can grow for personal use to six, or three if the plants are flowering. That’s all per the ballot initiative passed in November.

Any more plants than that is considered a commercial use, which would require a state license. And Mayor Shirley Marquardt says the framework for those doesn’t exist yet.

"That’s the legislature’s and the state’s larger role to play," she says. "But we’re looking for as much local control as possible here, and taking it through a public process."

Marquardt testified at a state legislative hearing on marijuana on Saturday. She told the House Community and Regional Affairs committee about challenges the drug's manufacture could pose for towns with limited law enforcement and emergency response.

She also raised the issue of how to regulate the drug on privately owned lands outside city limits -- like those owned by the Ounalashka Corporation. OC representatives reached Monday had no comment on marijuana issues.

But Marquardt says Unalaska will look to the state for guidance on those larger concerns. For now, she hopes council will pass this first ordinance by Feb. 24. That’s when it becomes legal to possess up to an ounce of marijuana in the state.

"We just needed to have something in place right now so people in the community ... understand what the rules are and why they are that way, so nobody’s caught off-guard or by surprise," she says.

The ordinance would get a public hearing at council in the coming weeks if it moves forward Tuesday. The meeting is at 6 p.m. at City Hall.

If you have questions or comments about the city’s marijuana plans, you can tune in to KUCB 89.7 FM on Wednesday, Feb. 11 at 12 noon. We’re hosting a live roundtable with city manager Chris Hladick and deputy police chief Mike Holman to talk about the knowns and unknowns for managing the drug -- and we’ll be taking your input live on the air. Click here for details, and be sure to tune in Wednesday for more.