SENATE'S DRUG BILL TWEAKS DIE IN HOUSE

Rejected: Adding Marijuana Provision to Meth-Fighting Effort Unites
Opponents of Both.

JUNEAU -- The Alaska House of Representatives on Wednesday rejected a
bill that would make possession of small amounts of marijuana a crime.

The Senate added the marijuana provision to a House bill that was
aimed at thwarting production of methamphetamine in home labs.

But the Senate also removed a key element of the methamphetamine part
of the bill. And that raised concerns among several lawmakers who
supported the original measure and drew objections from police
agencies throughout the state.

House members rejected the Senate's changes 23 to 15.

"I thought we did some excellent work, bipartisan work, and it's come
back as a Christmas tree," Rep. Harry Crawford, D-Anchorage, said on
the House floor before casting his vote against the revised bill.

"I believe the trunk of the Christmas tree is rotten now, and I'm not
buying it," Crawford said.

The House last year, by a vote of 33-0, passed a bill, HB 149, that
would have restricted the sale of certain over-the-counter cold
medicines such as Sudafed that contain ingredients than can be used
to make methamphetamine, a highly addictive stimulant.

It would have limited an individual's purchases of such drugs to
about three regular-sized packages per month and require buyers to
show identification and sign a logbook at the store, which would be
made available to police.

The Murkowski administration has wanted to recriminalize marijuana,
since the Alaska Supreme Court in 2004 ruled it legal for adults to
possess up to 4 ounces of the drug at home under the state
constitution's guarantee of citizens' strong right to privacy from
government interference.

The governor has proposed legislation that would make possession of
up to 4 ounces of pot a misdemeanor. Having more than 4 ounces would
be a felony, a more serious crime.

Last month, the Senate Finance Committee merged Murkowski's marijuana
bill, which he has called "must-pass legislation," with the House's
methamphetamine bill.

But the Senate went a step further by stripping the requirement that
drug sellers keep records on who is buying Sudafed and other
medicines containing methamphetamine ingredients.

"There were a lot of good reasons to vote against it," said Michael
W. Macleod-Ball, executive director of the Alaska Civil Liberties
Union, which opposes Murkowski's marijuana proposal.

By merging the bills, the Senate effectively united the opponents of
each of them, he said.

Lawmakers on Wednesday gave several reasons for nixing the Senate's changes.

Rep. Carl Gatto, R-Palmer, said the House bill was aimed primarily at
shutting down "mom-and-pop" meth labs and that removing the
requirement that retailers track the medicine sales made the bill
useless for doing so.

"Without logbooks, I feel like the whole process fails," he said. "It
does away with the most important component of dealing with mom-and-pop labs."

Police agencies in Anchorage, Palmer, Fairbanks and North Pole
recently sent letters to legislators urging them to restore the
record-keeping provision, which they said is central to their efforts
to track down and close meth labs.

Other members who voted down the Senate's proposed changes cited the
marijuana provisions, which representatives had not yet discussed in committee.

"If we're dealing with something that has significant constitutional
issues, we need to have some hearings on this and have some evidence
so we can vote on it intelligently," said Rep. Max Gruenberg, D-Anchorage.

Fairbanks Republican Rep. Jay Ramras, the House bill's primary
sponsor, voted to accept the Senate's changes.

"I will pose a rhetorical riddle to this body," Ramras said on the
House floor Wednesday. "What do 89 marijuana plants, a
methamphetamine lab and a 2-year-old have in common? The answer ...
would be they were all part of a bust in my community at the end of last week."

The House sent the bill back to the Senate, asking that its changes
be withdrawn. If the Senate refuses, a conference committee of
representatives and senators will try to agree on a bill that both
chambers will pass.

Becky Hultberg, Murkowski's spokeswoman, said the governor is
resolute about his marijuana bill and is willing to work with the
conference committee.

"The governor is absolutely committed to having legislation on
marijuana and methamphetamine this session, and we are very
optimistic," she said. "The goal is a bill that protects our children
and communities."