LAISSEZ-FAIRE ALASKA WEIGHS TOUGH NEW MARIJUANA LAWS

State's Legacy Of Backing Privacy Is Tested By What Some Say Is A
More Potent Form Of Pot

JUNEAU (AP) -- Alaska's law on marijuana possession is considered the
most liberal in the country -- but its governor wants to change that,
saying pot has evolved into "a dangerous drug."

Republican Gov. Frank Murkowski argues that recreational use of pot
should no longer be protected by Alaskans' right to privacy. He's
pressing the Legislature to restore criminal penalties for marijuana
possession.

Residents now may keep up to 4 ounces in their homes.

The intent is to trigger a constitutional challenge and ultimately
overturn the landmark Alaska Supreme Court decision that legalized
the use of small amounts of marijuana. The state's highest court
concluded in 1975 that Alaskans' constitutional right to privacy
outweighed any harm that might occur from using a small amount of
marijuana in the home. State legislators set that amount at 4 ounces
in 1982.

Although 11 other states have decriminalized small amounts of
marijuana for personal use, they generally set the limit at one ounce
and most levy a fine for possession, said Allen St. Pierre, executive
director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

Alaska's marijuana laws are "bar none" the most liberal in the
country, he said.

Federal law prohibits any use of marijuana, but 11 states including
Alaska allow it to be used for medicinal purposes.

Murkowski's bill is wrapped into legislation that seeks to curb the
manufacture of methamphetamine and now awaits action in a legislative
panel.

House Majority Leader John Coghill, a Republican, said the marriage
of the two bills has caused some resentment within his caucus. Yet he
thinks the bill will pass.

The Murkowski administration insists marijuana is far more potent and
dangerous today.

The state claims the levels of marijuana's psychoactive ingredient,
delta-9-tetrahydro-cannabinol, have risen tenfold or more over the
past three decades.

But opponents say the data are flawed because testing in the 1970s
was faulty.