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Herb Ninja

Pot issue brought to Senate by state

3-22-2005 | SEAN COCKERHAM | Anchorage Daily News

JUNEAU -- State officials, desperate to overturn Alaska court rulings that at-home pot is legal here, took their case to the Legislature on Monday.

Assistant attorney general Dean Guaneli told the Senate Health and Social Services Committee that the state has hit a dead end in the courts. The Alaska Supreme Court has refused to hear arguments for criminalizing small amounts of pot, and the governor has made the issue a priority, he said.

"This is the only forum left for this subject," Guaneli told the legislators.

The Senate committee Monday began hearings on Gov. Frank Murkowski's attempt to overrule the court ruling that adult Alaskans have the right to possess up to four ounces of marijuana for personal use in their homes.

"Alaska is unique in that it is the only state in which marijuana use by adults is legal" under state law, Guaneli said, adding that it is still illegal under federal law.

The state Supreme Court in September let stand a lower court ruling that at-home adult possession of pot is protected under the strong right to privacy from government interference guaranteed in the Alaska Constitution.

The governor's strategy is to introduce evidence at the legislative hearings about the harms of pot to create a "legislative record" of expert testimony. The state would then use that record and the Legislature's intent in passing the bill the next time a pot case went to court.

Murkowski's hope is to get the courts to agree the state has an overriding interest in outlawing marijuana in spite of the constitutional protection.

Alaska legislators are not pro-pot, but some were startled Monday at the state's presentation of statistics purporting to link marijuana to violent crime.

"I used to understand that smoking grass made people mellow out," said Eagle River Sen. Fred Dyson, a Republican and chairman of the Health and Social Services Committee.

Dyson said he looked forward to hearing the other side's reaction to the statistics. The Alaska Civil Liberties Union and others plan to testify against the bill when the committee hearings on it resume Wednesday.

Bill Parker, former state deputy commissioner of corrections and a former Anchorage legislator, said it is clear marijuana is a nonviolent drug, as opposed to alcohol.

Parker, representing Alaskans for Marijuana Regulation and Control, said his side would have its own experts testifying before the committee.

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Cassius

Thank god at least some of our politicians have half a brain.

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Burninbrooke

Who the hell elected that guy?

Alaska legislators are not pro-pot, but some were startled Monday at the state's presentation of statistics purporting to link marijuana to violent crime.


I'd love to see those statistics.

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PotShot

Yet another clash between the judicial branch, and those damn executives! And if the legislature comply, then isnt that two against one? No fair!

It will be moot when cannabis gets legalized in 2006.

The Alaska Supreme Court has refused to hear arguments for criminalizing small amounts of pot, and the governor has made the issue a priority, he said.

Its not really criminalizing, it is already criminalized.... but the courts have ruled criminalizing cannabis is unconstitutional. What the governer is asking legislature to do is make cannabis use(and all other actions neccessary to use cannabis)UNCONSITUTIONAL.

Hopefully the legislature will see this for what it is, a bunch of lies and B.S. Of course you never know...

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Cassius

They'll probably acquiesce, because the governor will say it's for the chiiiiiildren....

 

reggie_the_dog

"Its not really criminalizing, it is already criminalized.... but the courts have ruled criminalizing cannabis is unconstitutional. What the governer is asking legislature to do is make cannabis use(and all other actions neccessary to use cannabis)UNCONSITUTIONAL. "

It is the privacy clause in the Alaska constitution that makes it so you can grow and smoke your own at home. The legislature can only change this by changing the constitution. I do not know if this is smiple in Alaska or not, but in most states it is difficult to amend the constitution. It may also be difficult to convince people in Alaska why they have to sacrafice more privacy.
The leglisature cannot make a law saying that cannabis is illegal, the people cannot pass a referendum saying that cannabis is illegal. It is a constitutionally protected right to grow and smoke cannabis in Alaska.

All the legislature can realistically do is legalize and begin taxing cannabis.

Buzzby

This is not about modifying the state constitution. The Alaska Supreme Court ruled that home use of marijuana is protected by the privacy provisions of the constitution. The governor is trying to demonstrate that the harms caused by marijuana outweigh the privacy issue in order to get the Supreme Court to reverse it's ruling.

He's hoping that after the hearing the legislature will vote for a resolution declaring how evil the weed is.

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Lothar121

Does anyone have a transcript of the 'expert' testimony for and against the bill? I want to see how our movement held up to the lies.

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Buzzby

I'd like to see them, too. They should be part of the public record. I've looked everywhere I can think of on the web with no success.

Lothar121

I was searching through the Alaskan Committee database, they have a weird system. Perhaps we will have to wait for it to be categorized who knows.