LEGISLATORS AGAIN TRY TO OUTLAW POT

Bills: Proposal Would Make Possession Of More Than 4 Ounces Of
Marijuana A Felony

JUNEAU -- Lawmakers for the second year are trying to toughen
Alaska's marijuana laws, but critics say state government should
leave the little guy alone and go after commercial growers.

Alaska laws regarding marijuana use are among the loosest in the
country. A 1975 Alaska Supreme Court decision made it legal for
Alaskans to possess up to 4 ounces of marijuana for personal use in
their homes.

Backed by Republican Gov. Frank Murkowski, the bill to re-criminalize
personal use of the drug stalled last year but was heard again Tuesday.

The bill proposes to stiffen penalties for marijuana users. It would
make possession of 4 ounces of pot or more a felony. Possession of
less than 4 ounces would be a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail.

Murkowski has asked state lawmakers to consider evidence of
marijuana's dangers that should trump the courts' right to privacy rulings.

Chief assistant attorney general Dean Guaneli testified that
marijuana is more potent, and therefore more dangerous, now than it
was three decades ago when the state Supreme Court ruled.

"This bill reflects what is currently known about marijuana," he
said. "A lot has changed in the last 30 years."

Guaneli said proposed fixes to the bill aim to blunt criticism that
it would cost the state millions of dollars in jail time and unfairly
target recreational marijuana users. One amendment would impose fines
for possession of less than one ounce in the first two offenses. Jail
time could be considered only on a third offense.

The changes did not satisfy critics who said the state's interest in
curbing small marijuana users is not compelling enough to take away
an individual's privacy rights.

Michael Macleod-Ball, executive director of the Alaska Civil
Liberties Union, said the bill fails to get at the root of the problem.

"In fact there is no increase (in the bill) in penalties for those
with more than a pound available," he said, "Those are the commercial
growers, and those are the ones you should be looking at."

Macleod-Ball urged the committee to hear testimony from expert
witnesses who challenged the state's claims about the dangers of
marijuana in hearings last year. He complained that the public was
not given enough time to prepare for the Tuesday hearing.

But committee co-chairwoman Lyda Green, R-Wasilla, said she has
closed public testimony, adding that information from last year's
hearings was available to finance committee members. Green said she
expects the bill to move out of committee on Thursday for later floor
debate and a vote.

The state's marijuana laws have been shaped by 30 years of court
decisions and voter referendums.

After the 1975 state Supreme Court decision, a successful voter
initiative in 1990 criminalized all amounts of pot.

Then in 2003, the Alaska Court of Appeals reversed that in the case
of North Pole resident David Noy. The court said privacy rights
guaranteed in the Alaska Constitution can't be taken away by voters
or legislators.

The Supreme Court declined the state's request in September 2004 to
reconsider the Noy case, setting the legal possession limit at 4
ounces of marijuana.

And in November 2004, a ballot initiative to legalize marijuana and
possibly tax it similar to alcohol and cigarettes failed to pass with
44 percent of the vote.

The committee also considered a bill to limit the sale of
over-the-counter drugs that are used in the manufacture of the drug
methamphetamine, a powerful stimulant made from household products.

It would limit the sale of Sudafed to 6 grams a month per person. It
also would ban the sale of the decongestant to children under 18
years of age and require the products be secured behind the counter.
Guaneli said the administration has been working on the bill with
store owners who are worried about its impact on their business.

The bills are Senate Bill 74 and 70.