HOUSE PASSES MARIJUANA BILL

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - In a surprise vote Friday, the Alaska House
passed a bill that would both recriminalize marijuana possession and
make it tougher to by the ingredients to manufacture methamphetamine.

The House last month rejected the conference committee's
marijuana.m.eth bill, but voted 21-17 Friday night to rescind that action.

The bill went on to pass without debate 24-14.

"I don't think it was a reversal, I think it was an evolution toward
good policy," said Rep. Jay Ramras, R-Fairbanks, who sponsored the
methamphetamine bill.

The Senate last month accepted the conference committee report,
meaning the bill now goes to Gov. Frank Murkowski to sign into law.

In originally rejecting the bill, many House members said they
supported the methamphetamine provisions, which would have restricted
the sale of many over-the-counter medicines that are used in making
the drug. However, they objected to the marijuana provisions being
added without having enough committee hearings in the House.

The Senate tacked on the marijuana provisions, which Murkowski had
introduced last year and called "must-pass" legislation.

Murkowski is seeking to overturn a long-standing decision in which
the Alaska Supreme Court ruled it was legal for Alaskans to possess
small amounts of marijuana in their homes for personal use.

The bill lists a number of findings that say marijuana is a more
potent and dangerous drug than it was 30 years ago, which the
governor hopes will give the court a basis to overturn the decision.

House Minority Leader Ethan Berkowitz, D-Anchorage, said he believed
the only reason the vote was reversed was because of pressure on
lawmakers by the governor's office for Murkowski's priority bill.

"To me, this shows how distorted this process has become," Berkowitz
said. "If I wake up in the morning and there's snow on the ground, I
don't have to see the snow falling to know that it has snowed. It's
what you call circumstantial evidence."

"Obviously we are pleased. The governor worked real hard on this,
it's something he believes in. It's a good day for Alaska," said
Kevin Jardell, the governor's legislative liaison.

In response to House minority leaders accusations that the governor
pressured lawmakers into voting for the bill, he said, "That's
insulting to the legislators and the institution."

However, House Speaker John Harris, R-Valdez, said he did not believe
the votes changed specifically due to pressure from the governor's office.

"I think the governor certainly has petitioned members to change
their vote," Harris said. "I think it's mainly because a number of
members voted no earlier because of the process. The Senate put two
bills together and so a number of our members weren't happy with that
process and now I think have softened their feelings a little bit and
aren't nearly as angry about that."

American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska Director Michael
Macleod-Ball sent a letter to Attorney General David Marquez Friday
saying the ACLU would sue for injunctive relief if the bill becomes law.

"Plain and simple, you are attempting to further restrict the right
to privacy enjoyed by all Alaskans by enacting the marijuana
provisions of (the bill)," Macleod-Ball wrote.

The bill is House Bill 149.