What others say: Future of marijuana bill unclear

  • Wednesday, March 18, 2015 4:44pm
  • Opinion

After a rough initial outing and complete rewrite, the Alaska Legislature’s attempt at setting state rules for marijuana legalization appears to have ground to a halt once more. Senate Bill 30 would rewrite state laws to reflect marijuana’s legal status for personal possession and use following voter approval of Ballot Measure 2 in November 2014. But a controversial amendment by Fairbanks Sen. Pete Kelly has dimmed the prospect that a fix to conflicting state laws on legalization is imminent.

At first, SB 30 was an ugly bill. Rather than reflect marijuana’s legal status, as originally written, the bill would have left state drug laws intact — including illegal status for pot — and simply let defendants charged with marijuana possession offer the passage of legalization as an affirmative defense. Legislators, state law officials and legalization advocates railed against the bill’s language as not reflective of voters’ intention in passing the ballot measure.

After a brief hiatus, the bill was rewritten to better address laws in the state that needed to be changed to reflect the drug’s legal status. It took time and debate, but the Legislature appeared to be heading toward a bill that would clarify state drug laws, reflect voter intention and maintain prohibitions on larger-scale marijuana growing.

That changed last week, when Sen. Kelly introduced an amendment that would make marijuana concentrates and edibles — and perhaps even the plant itself — illegal in 2017, as soon as the initiative could legally be altered.

Sen. Kelly, in arguing for his amendment, said voters had no idea the marijuana initiative would legalize marijuana edibles and concentrates if passed. While it’s true the language of the ballot measure as it appeared on the ballot doesn’t make explicit mention of edibles and concentrates, instead referring to “marijuana and marijuana products,” significant advertising and debating was done by those opposing the measure that highlighted the fact such products also would be made legal. Alaska news reports and coverage of the legalization of the drug in Colorado and Washington also made repeated mention of edibles and other marijuana products. While some Alaskans may not have been aware of that aspect of the measure, it’s a safe bet most did know about it.

Whether or not one agrees on Sen. Kelly’s reading of voter awareness of the legalization of derivative marijuana products, the wording of his amendment, either by accident or design, might well ban marijuana possession and use outright come 2017. It would criminalize any “material” containing tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in marijuana. It’s not hard to see how that could result in a complete ban on marijuana.

So SB 30 appears dead in the water once again, with no hearings scheduled and no apparent way to resolve the bill’s conflict with voter intent in passing marijuana legalization.

All of a sudden, 90 days is looking like it might not be enough time for legislators to clean up state drug laws and bring Alaska’s statutes into line with the intent of its people. If that proves to be the case, it would be an indictment of those in a position to make a difference on the issue in Juneau.

Municipalities have done good work in sorting out their definitions of how and where marijuana can be used. The Legislature should get on the ball and eliminate the conflicts in state law, not create them.

— Fairbanks Daily News-Miner,

March 17

More in Opinion

Deena Bishop, commissioner of the Department of Education and Early Development, discusses the status of school districts’ finances during a press conference with Gov. Mike Dunleavy at the Alaska State Capitol on Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Opinion: The fight to improve public education has just begun

We owe our children more than what the system is currently offering

President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin of Russia at a joint news conference in Helsinki, Finland, July 16, 2018. (Doug Mills/The New York Times file photo)
Opinion: Mistaking flattery for respect

Flattery played a role in Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill.

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: Life is harder when you outlive your support group

Long-time friends are more important than ever to help us cope, to remind us we are not alone and that others feel the same way.

Deven Mitchell is the executive director and chief executive officer of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. (Photo courtesy of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp.)
Opinion: The key to a stronger fund: Diversification

Diversification is a means of stabilizing returns and mitigating risk.

A silver salmon is weighed at Three Bears in Kenai, Alaska. Evelyn McCoy, customer service PIC at Three Bears, looks on. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Opinion: Will coho salmon be the next to disappear in the Kenai River?

Did we not learn anything from the disappearance of the kings from the Kenai River?

Jonathan Flora is a lifelong commercial fisherman and dockworker from Homer, Alaska.
Point of View: Not fishing for favors — Alaskans need basic health care access

We ask our elected officials to oppose this bill that puts our health and livelihoods in danger.

Alex Koplin. (courtesy photo)
Opinion: Public schools do much more than just teach the three Rs

Isn’t it worth spending the money to provide a quality education for each student that enters our schools?

Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks to reporters at the Alaska State Capitol on Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Letter to the Editor: Law enforcement officers helped ensure smooth, secure energy conference

Their visible commitment to public safety allowed attendees to focus fully on collaboration, learning, and the important conversations shaping our path forward.

Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire file photo
The present-day KTOO public broadcasting building, built in 1959 for the U.S. Army’s Alaska Communications System Signal Corps, is located on filled tidelands near Juneau’s subport. Today vehicles on Egan Drive pass by the concrete structure with satellite dishes on the roof that receive signals from NPR, PBS and other sources.
My Turn: Stand for the community radio, not culture war optics

Alaskans are different and we pride ourselves on that. If my vehicle… Continue reading

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) delivers his annual speech to the Alaska Legislature on Thursday, March 20, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: Sullivan, Trump and the rule of lawlessness

In September 2023, U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan established his own Alaska Federal… Continue reading

UAA Provost Denise Runge photographed outside the Administration and Humanities Building at the University of Alaskas Anchorage. (courtesy photo)
Opinion: UAA’s College of Health — Empowering Alaska’s future, one nurse at a time

At the University of Alaska Anchorage, we understand the health of our… Continue reading

U.S. Rep. Nick Begich III, R-Alaska, address a joint session of the Alaska Legislature on Thursday, Feb. 20, 2025. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: A noncongressman for Alaska?

It’s right to ask whether Nick Begich is a noncongressman for Alaska.… Continue reading