Alaska Could Be the Next State to Legalize Marijuana

Possession and consumption of marijuana have been
legal in Alaska since 1975, when the Alaska Supreme Court ruled
that such activity is protected by the state constitution as long
as it is confined to the privacy of the home and involves “personal
use” amounts. It
looks like an initiative that finally addresses the question of
where people are supposed to get this pot they are allowed to smoke
will be on the ballot this August, which could make Alaska the
first state to join Colorado and Washington in legalizing
marijuana. This week an official count certified enough signatures
to qualify the initiative, which aims to “regulate marijuana like
alcohol.” 

Like Colorado’s Amendment 64, the Alaska
initiative would allow adults 21 or older to possess up to
an ounce of marijuana at a time, grow up to six plants at home, and
transfer up to an ounce at a time to other adults “without
remuneration.” It authorizes state-licensed growers, cannabis
product manufacturers, and retailers, to be regulated by Alaska’s
Alcoholic Beverage Control Board or a separate agency created
by the state legislature.

A
recent survey by Public Policy Polling put support for
legalizing marijuana at 55 percent in Alaska, similar to the poll
numbers seen in Colorado and Washington prior to the 2012
elections, which accurately predicted the results in those states.
Alaska’s lone congressman, Don Young, a Republican, is a co-sponsor
of the Respect State
Marijuana Laws Act, which declares that the provisions of the
Controlled Substances Act dealing with cannabis “shall not
apply to any person acting in compliance with state laws.”
Young says “it’s
a states’ rights issue, period.”

Also this week, two legalization initiatives were
approved for signature gathering in California, where voters
rejected legalization in 2010 by an eight-point margin. They would
appear on the November ballot if they qualify.