Alaska clears up some confusion in rush to legalize marijuana, but process has missteps

Alaska has cleared up some confusion in the rush to legalize marijuana, but even that process had its missteps Tuesday.

A voter initiative made Alaska the third U.S. state to legalize pot, and the ballot measure prohibited smoking in public. Neither the measure nor lawmakers defined a public place, leaving it to the state's alcohol regulators to do so.

The state alcohol control board met via teleconference early Tuesday and decided pot can't be smoked in places generally accessible to the public, like parks, schools or on the street.

But the teleconference started late because organizers gave out the wrong phone number.

The call originated from the board's Anchorage office. However, a locked gate blocked access to the meeting site.