JUNEAU - The state of Alaska is changing how it taxes marijuana in response to industry concerns.

The current tax is $50 an ounce for any part of the bud and flower and $15 an ounce for the remainder of the plant.

New rules, set to take effect Jan. 1, make distinctions between different types of bud.

So-called mature bud would be taxed at $50 an ounce, while immature or abnormal buds would be taxed at $25 an ounce. The tax rate for the rest of the plant would be unchanged.

Cultivators would continue paying the tax, imposed when marijuana is sold or transferred from a grow facility to a retail store or product manufacturing facility.