A marijuana plant is seen at Tweed Marijuana Inc in Smith's Falls
A marijuana plant is seen at Tweed Marijuana Inc in Smith's Falls, Ontario, March 19, 2014. By unlocking the once-obscure medical marijuana market, Canada has created a fast-growing, profitable and federally regulated industry with a distinct appeal to the more daring global investor. About a dozen producers of the drug will find themselves in the spotlight this year as they consider going public or prepare to so through share sales or reverse takeovers to capitalize on recent regulatory changes, investment bankers said. Tweed Marijuana Inc, which converted an old chocolate factory into a marijuana farm, led the pack by becoming the first publicly held Canadian company in the sector. Picture taken March 19, 2014. Reuters/Blair Gable

Recreational marijuana use became legal in Alaska on Tuesday, Feb 24, making it the fourth state to decriminalise the use, cultivation and ownership of small amounts of cannabis, after Colorado, Washington and Oregon. But in Oregon, recreational use becomes legal only by July.

However, weed use is allowed only at home by adult residents of Alaska, not in public which remains illegal. They can grow up to six cannabis plants and possess up to an ounce of marijuana. Only three marijuana plants could be flowering.

Cynthia Franklin, director of Alaska’s Liquor Control Board, warned Alaskans not to celebrate the new law in public by lighting up a joint in the park or else they would be fined $100, reports Time.

The Justice Department said that by allowing Alaska residents the recreational use of marijuana, it hopes to prosecute lesser marijuana-related crimes such as selling the weed to minors.

However, this high that Alaskans will be enjoying could be short-lived if a more conservative president would replace Barack Obama in 2016, which coincides with the likely opening of pot shops in Alaska, notes Reuters.

Alaska regulators are still in the drafting stage on the rules governing the sale and taxation of cannabis in the state. Target date of adoption of the regulations is Nov 24, while applications for business license to sell the weed will be accepted only in February 2016.

Although Alaska’s Supreme Court declared in 1975 that residents have the constitutional right to own and use a small amount of cannabis at home, lawmakers made it criminal in 2006.

A new Marijuana Control Board will be created under a bill that Alaska Gov Bill Walker introduced on Tuesday to oversee the enforcement of marijuana laws in the state.

Alaska officials have visited Colorado and will soon visit Washington to see how these two states are handling the social experiment.

To contact the writer, email: v.hernandez@ibtimes.com.au