Pubdate: Tue, 03 Mar 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

IS IT ILLEGAL TO CONSUME CANNABIS IN ALASKA STATE PARKS?

"Park Ranger" (not an actual park ranger) wonders about herb and the 
great outdoors: "What's the regulation or position for state parks 
and pot? I ask this question because I live right at the door of 
Chugach State Park. So if public consumption and sales are illegal in 
Anchorage, whoever smokes or eats brownies can just go for a hike 
around Flattop and such? Or does Alaska State Parks have some regulations now?"

To answer this question, first we'll need a bit of definition.

Anchorage recently clarified the definition of "public" when it comes 
to consumption, and then a short time later, the state did too. There 
was some concern among officials that the statutes instituted by 
Ballot Measure 2 lacked a sufficiently clear definition of "public 
place," and some local governments, Anchorage first among them, 
attempted to clarify. The cities of Wasilla and North Pole have also 
passed similar ordinances.

Although the Anchorage municipality is right next door to Chugach 
State Park, the rules that matter there are the state's, not Anchorage's.

Cynthia Franklin, director of Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, the 
agency currently in charge of implementing the system directed by the 
initiative, told Alaska Dispatch News that the definition of "public 
place" that the board adopted by emergency order on Feb. 24 is 
identical to the existing definition in Title 11 of state law. The 
emergency order says a public place is "a place to which the public 
or a substantial group of persons has access and includes highways, 
transportation facilities, schools, places of amusement or business, 
parks, playgrounds, prisons, and hallways, lobbies, and other 
portions of apartment houses and hotels not constituting rooms or 
apartments designed for actual residence." That emergency order 
expires June 23, and the ABC board has proposed making the definition 
permanent.

Claire LeClair, deputy director and chief of field operations for the 
Alaska Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation, said in no uncertain 
terms that the park's rules haven't changed: "It will continue to be 
illegal to consume marijuana in a state park."

LeClair said the reasoning for that to continue being the case is 
that state parks are public places, and public use of cannabis is 
prohibited. Ballot Measure 2 included a ban on public use, and that 
new statute provides for a fine of up to $100, a civil violation 
rather than a criminal one.

Keep in mind, though, that a host of changes to state law regarding 
marijuana, including to criminal provisions and the state's list of 
controlled substances, is currently being considered by the Alaska 
Legislature, as Senate Bill 30, so it's not completely, totally, 
thoroughly settled. But it is illegal to consume pot in an Alaska 
state park, and that part doesn't seem likely to change.

Whether that prohibition can easily be enforced is a separate 
question, and one that pot smokers have been gambling on successfully 
for a long time already. Chugach State Park encompasses 495,000 
acres, and much of it, despite being alpine, would seem to offer 
decent cover for people committed to illegally consuming the herb there.

But don't worry, none of that's new with legalization. People have 
been smoking pot out in the woods for quite some time already. 
Because there are different ways of consuming cannabis now, 
authorities or neighbors may not even know anything has happened. 
Toking up at a trailhead would seem the highest-profile activity, 
especially if the trailhead parking lot has homes or neighbors close 
by, as is the case in parts of the Chugach. But eating or drinking 
something containing cannabis extracts would seem some of the most 
difficult to detect and ticket.

So, the answer, Park Ranger, is yes to both questions. It remains 
illegal to consume marijuana in public, which includes state parks. 
And yes, as they already have been doing for years, whoever smokes 
cannabis or eats infused brownies can -- at their own risk -- just go 
for a hike around Flattop.

Have a question about marijuana news or culture in Alaska? Send it to  with "Highly Informed" in the subject line.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom