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Marijuana: Alaska Governor's Effort to Recriminalize Marijuana Passes One More Hurdle
StopTheDrugWar | 04/14/2006

Thanks to a series of Alaska appeals court and Supreme Court decisions dating to 1975, Alaska is the only state in the nion where it is legal to possess marijuana -- up to a quarter-pound in the privacy of one's home -- and that is driving Gov. Frank Murkowski (R) crazy. For the second year in a row, he has pushed legislation that would recriminalize marijuana possession, and this year he is coming close to succeeding.

While the effort appeared to hit a bump when Murkowski and his legislative allies tied the marijuana bill to an anti-methamphetamine bill, the joint bill made it out of a joint conference committee Wednesday and now heads back to the House and Senate floors for final approval.

The conference committee fended off efforts to amend the bill or separate it into two separate bills. "Whether they're high on meth or stoned on pot, it's the same to me," said Sen. Con Bunde (R-Anchorage).

The committee rejected an effort by Sen. Hollis French (D-Anchorage) to strip from the bill a long list of legislative "findings" that today's marijuana is much more potent that the pot of the 1960s and 1970s and could be addictive. In 1975, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled that, given the relative harmlessness of marijuana, the state constitution's privacy provision protected people's right to possess the substance in their own homes. The findings are an effort to set the stage for a new challenge to that decision, which the Alaska courts upheld again in 2004 and 2005.

The committee also rejected an amendment by French to allow small amounts of marijuana for personal use at home. The bill would make possession of more than a quarter-pound a felony, between an ounce and a quarter-pound a serious misdemeanor, and under an ounce a misdemeanor.

If signed into law, the bill would be in direct conflict with the court decisions, setting up a legal challenge to the new law. Murkowski and his allies hope the court will be swayed by their "findings" and overturn its previous rulings.

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BillieBudd

"Whether they're high on meth or stoned on pot, it's the same to me," said Sen. Con Bunde (R-Anchorage).
Of all the stupid things that I have read in these news threads, this has to be among the top 5...
What a moron...Alaska should be proud that its lawmakers are of such high intellect....

TheNewGuy

You do know that to the vast majority of politicians, a marijuana user isn't better than a meth user right? To them its all just "drugs".

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"Anyway, no drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we're looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn't test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power." ~P.J. O'Rourke

Murdock

Yet another reason why Marijuana never will be legalized in these United States..

TheNewGuy

It will be once people stop voting either democrat or republican like there aren't any other choices. You know, in the year 3000 when people find out that there are other parties...

 

reggie_the_dog

well at least the supreme court of the state of Alaska will probably declare any such law unconstitutional.

Toking Jedi

Some one will point out that the only reason the Gov. is infuriated by legal marijuana is because he is a) a politician and thus b) thinks he needs to look tough on drugs. He can't seem to grasp that the facts are the facts. Marijuana is the safest drug! Meth is not; it is in fact very dangerous and shouldn't be lumped together in the same bill.

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Little Nicky

You don't know that. For all you know, they will let it stand, allowing the law to conform to federal law.

Little Nicky

The year 3000. What makes you think that people will change that fast?