Lawmakers discuss federal issues with pot legalization

  • By Molly Dischner
  • Thursday, March 5, 2015 9:49pm
  • News

JUNEAU — A state Department of Law official told concerned lawmakers Thursday that regulating marijuana shouldn’t result in federal prosecution.

Sen. Anna MacKinnon, R-Eagle River, said during a Senate Finance Committee hearing that she had heard from members of the public who thought that legislators were violating federal law if they implemented the ballot initiative legalizing marijuana.

Department of Law representative Rick Svobodny told lawmakers that isn’t the case. The oath requires them to uphold federal and state constitutions, but it doesn’t mention specific federal laws.

“If it’s speech, debate, voting, making a public policy call, you’re ultimately going to be immune,” he said. Svobodny noted that lawmakers — like any other citizen— could still be prosecuted for other crimes related to marijuana, such as possession on federal property.

Although Alaska voters approved possession, personal use and transportation of limited quantities of marijuana for adults 21 and older, it remains illegal federally.

Other concerns about state-federal interplay remain.

Svobodny told lawmakers about a 2011 U.S. Department of Justice memo that in the states that legalize and regulate marijuana and enforce their rules, the federal government will focus federal enforcement on issues such as keeping it away from minors, keeping it off federal property, preventing violence in cultivation and distribution, and other health and safety concerns, rather than legal possession or use in that state. The memo makes it clear that the federal government will not try to stop a legislative body from regulating marijuana use and distribution, he said.

Svobodny also said he didn’t know whether a future administration would change the guidance in that memo.

Sen. Mike Dunleavy, R-Wasilla, said federal enforcement remains a subjective issue, and that the Legislature needs to be clear with residents that the substance is still illegal at the federal level.

Assistant Attorney General Kaci Schroeder listed other enforcement concerns with the bill, including how to measure possession of concentrates or hash oil once they are incorporated into edibles, and how to know whether marijuana at a given premises came from plants grown there, and thus is not subject to the 1-ounce limit.

The bill being discussed in the finance committee addresses previously stated concerns about the initiative’s implementation, including that it has language for communities, including established villages, to opt out of having a marijuana industry, Schroeder said.

More in News

Jeff Dolifka and his children perform the ceremonial ribbon-cutting for the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Kenai Peninsula’s Royce and Melba Roberts Campus in Kenai, Alaska, on Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
‘So proud of what we accomplished’

New Boys and Girls Clubs campus dedicated Saturday with a ribbon-cutting and donor recognition.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks to reporters about his decision to veto an education funding bill earlier this session at the Alaska State Capitol on Thursday, April 17, 2025. He vetoed a second such bill on Monday. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Dunleavy vetoes 2nd bill increasing education funding; override vote by legislators likely Tuesday

Bill passed by 48-11 vote — eight more than needed — but same count for override not certain.

Graduate Paxton McKnight speaks during the graduation ceremony at Cook Inlet Academy near Soldotna, Alaska, on Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Beginning a new season of their lives

Cook Inlet Academy graduates seven.

The wreckage of Smokey Bay Air plane N91025 is photographed after residents pulled it from the water before high tide on April 28, 2025, in Nanwalek, Alaska. (Photo courtesy of NTSB)
Preliminary report released on Nanwalek plane crash

The crash killed the pilot and one passenger and left the other passenger seriously injured.

Member Tom Tougas, far right, speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Tourism Industry Working Group in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Tourism working group rejects bed tax, recommends seasonal sales tax adjustment

The document includes a section that says the borough could alternatively leave its tax structure exactly as it is.

The rescued sea otter pup looks at the camera in this undated picture, provided by the Alaska SeaLife Center. (Kaiti Grant/Alaska SeaLife Center)
Stranded otter pup rescued from Homer beach

She is estimated to be around 2 months old and was found alone by concerned beach walkers.

Kenai Peninsula College Director Cheryl Siemers speaks to graduates during the 55th commencement ceremony at Kachemak Bay Campus on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, in Homer, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
Kenai Peninsula College leadership sees temporary transitions

KPC Director Cheryl Siemers is serving as interim UAA chancellor, while former KBC director Reid Brewer fills in her role.

Ash-Lee Waddell (center) of Homer is one of six recipients of the 2025 First Lady’s Volunteer Award at the Governor’s Residence in Juneau, Alaska, on May 13, 2025. Photo courtesy of the Office of the Governor
First lady honors Alaska volunteers

Volunteers from Homer and Nikiski were recognized.

The front of the Kenai Police Department as seen on Dec. 10, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Update: Middle schooler reported missing found after 24-hour search

The student was seen leaving Kenai Middle School at around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Most Read