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Marijuana Rider Ignores Science, Sense
David Finkelstein and Bill Parker | Anchorage Daily News | 01/24/06

The state Senate is passing legislation to re-criminalize marijuana via a variety of misleading and false "findings." And they are trying to pass it using a sneaky legislative maneuver designed to short-circuit the necessary discussion and debate.

On Thursday, the Alaska Senate passed what was supposed to be an anti-methamphetamine bill, HB 149. But rather than just passing the original bill, the Senate hastily added Gov. Murkowski's marijuana re-criminalization bill as a rider.

Since HB 149 has already passed both bodies (as the anti-meth bill), if the House goes along, the marijuana provisions won't receive any House hearings or amendments. Ironically, the Senate's move came shortly after the British government's official scientific advisory committee on drug policy issued a report that flatly contradicts the most important "findings" written into the bill.

The current British policy is to not arrest adult marijuana users except when there are aggravating circumstances. The British, it seems, are trying to base policy on real science, while the governor prefers to make up "facts" to suit his personal views.

The HB 149 "findings" are important as the governor and the majority of the Senate want to use them to override Alaskans' constitutional right to privacy regarding the possession of a small amount of marijuana in the home. But the findings are so blatantly inaccurate that the courts will likely find them unpersuasive.

For example, one passage declares that marijuana use "is associated with depression and an increased risk of attempting suicide." But the British government's scientists found the evidence on this score "not, overall, persuasive." Indeed, one recent study -- the largest ever done on the issue of marijuana and depression -- found marijuana users to be less depressed than nonusers.

Another finding darkly hints of links between marijuana and violence, touting a supposed "high percentage" of arrestees found with marijuana in their systems. The British experts noted simply, "Cannabis [marijuana] use rarely provokes acts of aggression." Indeed, a massive body of scientific evidence shows unmistakably that marijuana reduces aggression and violence, while alcohol increases it. Alcohol, not marijuana, is a significant cause of domestic violence.

HB 149 also warns of "dramatically" increased marijuana potency. But the British government's experts concluded that such calculations are "beset with difficulties" due to the poor quality of the data and wide variations in potency. In any case, they noted no increased danger from higher-potency marijuana has been proven, and that it's possible that users of high-potency marijuana simply smoke less.

Perhaps most important, HB 149 claims "criminal penalties for possession in the home will deter possession by adults" while "reducing its use by young people." In fact, multiple studies have concluded that this is not the case. The British scientists noted that marijuana use has continued to decline among both adults and young people even after they stopped arresting marijuana users, with "no evidence" the change in policy had any effect on use levels.

If we are to weaken our constitutional right of privacy, it should be for good reason and only after serious debate and a thorough airing of the facts. Instead of going along with the Senate's work of fiction, the House should demand a chance to hold hearings on the marijuana-home privacy issue.

Poor legislative process is always bad public policy. But it's especially dangerous when the goal is to weaken Alaskans' constitutional right to privacy.

Bill Parker and David Finkelstein are former state legislators. Bill Parker also served as deputy commissioner of Corrections.

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Chron

Oh, these sneaky bastards.

Slipping in riders to the original bill without discussion or debate SHOULD BE ILLEGAL!! In this day and age, they're still spreading lies about how marijuana causes violence? The Alaska government is using propaganda from the 1930's. The prohibitionists don't even try to put out misinformation that might be convincing. They're lazy and pathetic. "Marijuana causes violence!"-- Yeah, okay. The public basically yawns. I guess the prison-industrial complex isn't making enough money up there.