Pubdate: Fri, 22 Jul 2005
Source: Anchorage Daily News (AK)
Copyright: 2005 The Anchorage Daily News
Contact:  http://www.adn.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/18
Author: Peter Porco
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Cited: Gonzales v. Raich ( www.angeljustice.org/ )
Cited: Marijuana Policy Project ( www.mpp.org )

MEDICINAL USE OF POT CAN CONTINUE

State Registry: Policy Clarified In Light Of Supreme Court Ruling Last Month.

Alaskans can continue to register with state health authorities to 
smoke marijuana for medicinal reasons despite a U.S. Supreme Court 
decision last month that upheld federal laws banning the drug.

The state attorney general, David Marquez, has advised the Alaska 
Department of Health and Social Services that the court's June 6 
decision does not forbid the agency from registering medical 
marijuana users, according to a statement Marquez issued Thursday.

In the immediate wake of the high court's decision, the state was 
contemplating suspending the medical marijuana registration program, 
among a range of actions it could have taken in response, Alaska 
Department of Law spokesman Mark Morones said Thursday.

The administration of Gov. Frank Murkowski is known to be hostile to 
another category of legal use under Alaska laws, in which 
recreational users can have up to four ounces of the drug within 
their homes. That limited legal use was reaffirmed in 2004 by the 
state's Court of Appeals, which cited the Alaska constitution's 
privacy provision.

Medical users envisioned the court's decision as new ammunition for 
states that wanted to suppress all use of the drug.

At least two states with medical marijuana programs, Oregon and 
California, suspended their registration programs after the court 
issued its ruling. Both states recently resumed the programs after 
their legal authorities reviewed the court's action.

All use of marijuana is banned under federal law everywhere in the country.

Alaska is one of 10 states that authorize marijuana use for medical 
reasons, providing the user provides a doctor's prescription and 
registers with the state. That exception to state law was authorized 
by a voters' initiative in 1998. About 200 people are now registered 
in the program, according to Morones, the Law spokesman. About 570 
have been registered since the beginning.

The case before the Supreme Court, Gonzales v. Raich, was brought by 
California users of medical marijuana trying to assert a state's 
right to regulate such use over federal prohibition.

The court decided that the Commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution 
trumped state laws, asserting federal authority to ban use of the 
drug despite its legality within a state in certain circumstances.

Within the Supreme Court's ruling, Alaska found its legal haven in 
what Marquez called a "narrow constitutional question."

"We start with the presumption that our state statutes are valid," he 
said. "Absent a clear statement in Raich that federal law pre-empts a 
state's ability to regulate the possession and use of marijuana for 
medical purposes, Alaska's registration scheme should continue to 
remain in effect."

Marquez warned Alaskans, however, that any possession, distribution 
or use of dope remains a crime under U.S. law.

Federal law enforcement authorities in Alaska said last month that 
the court's ruling would not lead to increased prosecution of minor 
users; they're interested in major traffickers. They reiterated that 
posture Thursday.

Marquez's statement "is not going to change anything," said FBI 
Special Agent Eric Gonzalez.

The Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project, which had 
threatened to sue Alaska and Oregon if they suspended their medical- 
marijuana registration, said the state's decision was welcome, though 
not surprising.

"What Alaska and now all 10 of the medical marijuana states have said 
essentially is the Supreme Court decision does nothing on the state 
level," said Bruce Mirken, a Marijuana Policy Project spokesman. 
"It's essentially business as usual. ... This was a real clear-cut 
decision, and the question is why a couple of states took so long."

Marquez also issued a "talking points" memorandum, listing reasons 
why marijuana should be illegal under all circumstances except 
authorized medical use. Those reasons include the drug's high potency 
today compared with 30 and 40 years ago and its increasing use among 
students as young as 11.

Murkowski's proposed legislation, which did not advance in the last 
legislative session, would make possession of any amount of non- 
medical dope at home illegal under state law. The proposal would not 
affect registered medical marijuana users.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Beth