Pubdate: Thu, 12 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: Laurel Andrews

NEWEST VERSION OF ALASKA MARIJUANA CRIME BILL DRAWS OPPOSITION

Legislators on Wednesday heard public testimony about the newest 
version of a bill that deals with the criminal aspects of marijuana 
law in Alaska.

Introduced Monday in the Senate Finance Committee, the new version of 
SB 30 reinstates marijuana as a controlled substance. Among other 
changes to the bill, some crimes could be prosecuted as felonies, and 
an open container is broadly defined.

The bill had passed from the Senate Judiciary Committee, which 
drafted a bill that removed marijuana from the list of controlled substances.

Judiciary committee member Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage, expressed 
frustration Wednesday regarding the bill's changes in the finance committee.

"In the Senate Judiciary Committee there was a real collaborative 
process," Wielechowski said, which garnered support for the bill that 
was passed along to the finance committee.

In the committee, "from what I've heard, there was not a lot of 
consultation with the stakeholder groups," Wielechowski said.

Responding to this criticism, Senate Finance co-chair Anna MacKinnon, 
R-Eagle River, said, "This is the people's bill and so I'm not sure 
how it was handled in Judiciary. ... We try to work with everybody."

MacKinnon said the committee did not meet with advocacy groups such 
as the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol in Alaska. The 
opportunity to provide input is "still available to them," MacKinnon said.

Public testimony regarding the bill was overwhelmingly negative. 
Anchorage resident Fay Herald was one of dozens who testified during 
the 2.5-hour hearing. She said she was disappointed in the current 
version, specifically because it would make it a felony to have 1 
pound of marijuana in one's home.

Home-growers "certainly don't want to be considered felons because we 
harvested too much," Herald said.

"That's certainly not our intent," MacKinnon said after the hearing.

"Everyone understands that Alaskans have the right to have, to hold, 
to cultivate" marijuana, MacKinnon said.

Criminal penalties

Any conduct outlined in Alaska's initiative would be legal. 
Marijuana-related conduct outside those boundaries would remain a crime.

- -- It would be a felony to possess 1 pound or more, possess 25 plants 
or more, or give marijuana to someone under 21 years old twice in five years.

- -- A class A misdemeanor would be: transporting more than 1 ounce or 
six plants, possessing less than 16 but more than 3 ounces, 
delivering pot to someone under 21 years old, delivering marijuana 
for payment, or manufacturing marijuana concentrate using a "volatile 
or explosive gas."

- -- Possession of 2-3 ounces, 7-11 plants, or transporting more than 1 
ounce would be a class B misdemeanor.

- -- It would be a violation to possess between 1 and 2 ounces of 
marijuana, consume pot in public, grow in public view or on someone's 
property without consent, consume while operating a vehicle, or as a 
minor, possess less than 2 ounces.

MacKinnon asked the public specifically to weigh in on the "policy 
call" of making possession of 16 ounces, or 1 pound, of marijuana a felony.

She said after the hearing that the decision to make 16 ounces a 
felony was to draw a line for law enforcement in determining who's 
selling pot illegally.

"Somewhere there has to be a bite" in the law, MacKinnon said, that 
deters black market dealers.

Controlled substance

The bill would also reinstate marijuana as a controlled substance.

"We had testimony from state agencies (that suggested) there were 
some fatal flaws with removing it from controlled substances," 
MacKinnon said of the change. The Alaska Court System, Alaska State 
Troopers, and Public Defender Agency all testified that removing it 
would be problematic, MacKinnon said.

MacKinnon said that when one section of statute was changed to 
provide clarity, another section would become muddled.

No other state that has legalized recreational marijuana has removed 
its controlled substance status, MacKinnon said.

She said the intent of retaining it as a controlled substance is 
partially due to federal law. She wants Alaska to "use the structure 
that the federal government has made for other states."

Another reason to maintain it as a controlled substance is to ensure 
Alaskans understand that it is still illegal on the federal level. 
"No matter what Alaska does, it's going to be a controlled 
substance," MacKinnon said.

Additionally, the initiative did not require the removal of marijuana 
from the controlled substances list, MacKinnon said during the hearing.

Wielechowski called placing marijuana back on the controlled 
substances list a "slippery slope of philosophy," saying that if 
marijuana is viewed as a controlled substance, and thus a dangerous 
substance, then legislation is crafted with a different mindset. 
That's why felonies have shown up in the bill, Wielechowski said.

"People can say it's just a philosophical debate ... but you're 
seeing real policy ramifications," Wielechowski said.

The finance committee is holding hearings on the bill every day this week.

Alaska's initiative legalizing recreational marijuana use went into 
effect on Feb. 24.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom