A cannabis delivery service was raided by Anchorage police last week in what the business called an "unwelcome Christmas surprise."
On Thursday evening, police searched a facility near King Street and Dimond Boulevard and seized Absolutely Chronic Delivery Co.'s marijuana, said Jack Carson, lieutenant commander of crime suppression at the Anchorage Police Department.
Carson declined to say how much marijuana was taken, saying only that "it was clear that there was distribution going on."
On its website, Absolutely Chronic Delivery Co. (ACDC) said it had an "unwelcome Christmas surprise" where "the Jolly state of Alaska paid us a visit and confiscated all our MEDICAL supplies that were due to head out to our many patients in need."
ACDC isn't licensed by the Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office, the state agency that oversees Alaska's commercial cannabis industry. Marijuana delivery is specifically prohibited under the state's rules.
"Especially with the holiday weekend coming up … if you're going to purchase marijuana make sure it's from a licensed business," said MJ Thim, Anchorage Police Department spokesman.
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ACDC began operating in Alaska after commercial cannabis was legalized in late 2014.
In 2015, owner Michael Crites was charged with multiple felony counts for running the delivery service, including an unclassified felony for allegedly running a criminal enterprise. The charge carries a minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of 99 years.
In June, Crites said that despite the charges, the company had "never shut our doors in two years." ACDC is a nonprofit organization, Crites said, and all money goes back to the community. The business asks for "donations" for marijuana.
On Wednesday, Crites said that he was no longer the owner of ACDC, or affiliated with the organization. He said ACDC was a small community of farmers who donated their time to taking care of medical marijuana patients.
The Dec. 21 raid was the first time since 2015 that Anchorage police seized cannabis products from ACDC, Carson said.
When asked why police raided ACDC now, when the organization has been open about its continued operation, Carson said that police got a tip that the company was running in September. Police began their investigation then, he said.
"We've got a lot of investigations going on," Carson said.
No arrests had been made as of Wednesday, Carson said. "We're putting a case together," he said. "We'll be forwarding charges to (the district attorney)."
On Wednesday, ACDC's phone line was up and running, with a current list of cannabis products available. On its website, all cannabis products had a purchase price of zero dollars. ACDC delivers to Anchorage and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough area.
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On Dec. 19, burglars broke into a South Anchorage cultivator and stole 36 pounds of marijuana.
When asked whether the two incidents were related, Carson said "it's a completely separate case."
Generally speaking, most marijuana that is sold on Alaska's black market is grown locally, Carson said.