Pubdate: Tue, 10 Feb 2015 Source: Alaska Dispatch News (AK) Copyright: 2015 Alaska Dispatch Publishing Contact: http://www.adn.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/18 Note: Anchorage Daily News until July '14 Author: Scott Woodham WILL I BE ABLE TO BRING CANNABIS BACK TO ALASKA FROM ANOTHER LEGAL STATE? Highly Informed reader Jonathan wonders, "Would we be able to buy weed from out of state and ship it home or take it with us?" Even though it will be legal for people over 21 to possess and transport limited amounts of marijuana in Alaska after Feb. 24, importing it from somewhere else with legal pot to any degree will still be a no-no. The laws of both Washington and Colorado say that all the marijuana produced there legally is for in-state consumption, but federal law also says that cannabis is still illegal. That includes transporting it across state lines, whether in person or by mail, and that currently applies to transporting it between states that have legalized it as well. It will also still be illegal to transport marijuana across international borders like the one Alaska shares with Canada. Border control policies in both Canada and the U.S. bar the importation of any quantity of marijuana, and that was unchanged by Alaska's approval of Ballot Measure 2. In August 2013, Deputy Attorney General James Cole issued a memo to clarify for U.S. Attorneys around the country the federal enforcement of marijuana law in states with legal marijuana. In states with strong and effective regulatory systems in place, the memo says, state-legal sales, growth and transport would not be a priority. But, it says, federal prosecutors would still be on the look out for a list of violations, one of which is "preventing the diversion of marijuana from states where it's legal under state law in some form to other states." It seems important to note that Cole said "other states" there, not something like, "other states except those where it's also legal in some form." Naturally people are free to make their own choices, but be advised that despite legalization in Alaska, crossing borders with any amount of marijuana remains risky behavior that could result in criminal or civil consequences. Have a question about marijuana news or culture in Alaska? Send it to with "Highly Informed" in the subject line. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom