Legal issues involving right to privacy, campaign finance, and free speech at the forefront of marijuana news

Last update: December 6, 2006

On June 5, 2006, the ACLU of Alaska filed suit against the state of Alaska challenging the legality of House Bill 149, which had recently been signed in to law by Gov. Frank Murkowski (R). Among other things, House Bill 149 effectively re-criminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana by adults in the privacy of their homes.

The ACLU's complaint alleges that this violates Alaskans' state constitutional right to privacy. The Juneau Superior Court agreed, and it struck down the portion of the new law that made it illegal to possess less than one ounce of marijuana in the privacy of one's home. The Superior Court ruled that the new law conflicted with past decisions by the Alaska Supreme Court, namely, the 1975 Alaska Supreme Court decision in Ravin v. State that allowed adults to possess small amounts of marijuana for personal use.

The state of Alaska has now appealed this decision to the Alaska Supreme Court, with arguments expected to be heard sometime during the spring of 2007. You can click here to find out more about this case, and view documents filed with the court.

In other news, the Marijuana Policy Project is pursuing a case against the Alaska Public Offices Commission (APOC), which is set for oral argument on February 5, 2007. In July of 2005, MPP filed suit against several members of APOC for refusing to investigate a complaint filed against Deputy Drug Czar Scott Burns and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). The complaint stemmed from the failure of the drug czar's office to file campaign finance reports showing how much money it spent opposing a 2004 initiative to allow marijuana regulation. Although the measure did not pass, 44% of Alaskan voters voted for the initiative.

Marijuana-related speech that occurred in Alaska has now given rise to a U.S. Supreme Court case that involves the First Amendment. On December 1, 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court accepted an appeal from the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to hear arguments concerning an 18-year-old student's right to exhibit a banner that read "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" at a non-school event held off campus. The student was suspended for 10 days in 2002 for holding up the sign as the Olympic torch relay passed through Juneau. He subsequently filed suit against the school board, alleging that his First Amendment rights had been infringed. The Ninth Circuit agreed, and now the school board has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case. Arguments are expected to take place in late February.

Alaska has always been on the forefront of marijuana reform. MPP's polling shows that 56% of Alaskans now say that possession of small amounts of marijuana should be legal. Additionally, polls in both 2002 and 2006 show public support for Alaska's medical marijuana law at an overwhelming 74%. As a residents of a state that has shown time and again that it believes in the personal freedom of its citizens, each and every one of you are in a unique position to effect real change. You can start by writing to your legislators and asking them to introduce legislation that would remove criminal penalties for adult marijuana use. You can also write letters to your local newspapers that express your support for taxing and regulating marijuana.

If you have questions about marijuana policy reform in Alaska, please contact AMRC at info@regulatemarijuanainalaska.org.

Governor signs bill to re-criminalize marijuana; court challenge expected

On Friday, June 2, Gov. Frank Murkowski (R) signed into law H.B. 149 – a bill which has re-criminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana in Alaska. You may raise your voice against this unconstitutional law by writing a letter-to-the-editor expressing your disappointment.

This draconian marijuana legislation, which was wrapped into a much less controversial methamphetamine bill, explicitly contradicts a September 2004 Alaska Supreme Court ruling allowing adults aged 21 and older to use and possess up to four ounces of marijuana in the privacy of their homes. The Alaska ACLU plans to challenge the new, blatantly unconstitutional law in court.

As you may know, the battle against H.B. 149 raged on for a year and a half. MPP was originally told that Murkowski’s bill would steamroll resistance within weeks of its introduction in early 2005, but many months of lobbying and grassroots organizing succeeded in blocking it. Dozens of experts and individual citizens took the time to testify before legislative committees, and outstanding individuals like Bill Parker of Alaskans for Marijuana Regulation and Control and Wes Ball-McCloud of the Alaska Civil Liberties Union pounded the halls of the Capitol, getting the right message into the legislators' offices.

We thought we had seen victory when the Alaska House effectively rejected the bill on April 19.  However, on May 5, after direct lobbying by the governor, the House voted 21-17 (with two absent) to "rescind" its earlier decision to reject H.B. 149. A minority of state representatives stood up for the legislative process – you can take action today and thank them for this.

This is certainly disappointing, but even in defeat the Alaska campaign shows that there is deep, passionate support in Alaska for allowing adults to possess small amounts of marijuana in their homes. Our polling shows that 56% of Alaskans now say that possession of small amounts of marijuana should be legal.

Thank you for supporting the Marijuana Policy Project. And, if you haven't done so already, please be sure to subscribe to MPP’s free legislative alert service to keep updated about our efforts to stop the re-criminalization of marijuana in Alaska.

Urge your legislator to vote NO on Murkowski's marijuana legislation

The time is short to stop Gov. Frank Murkowski's (R) draconian marijuana legislation -- H.B. 149. Please take a moment to contact your legislators and tell them to vote against any version of H.B. 149 that contains the unconstitutional changes to Alaska's marijuana laws. There are only three weeks left in the session. The time to act is now.

As you know, Murkowski's drive to pass this legislation -- complete with misleading findings -- stalled and drew ridicule last year. Knowing that Murkowski's bill was unlikely to survive more exposure to critique, his cronies on the Senate Finance Committee amended the bill, S.B. 74, to a House bill dealing with manslaughter, methamphetamine, and steroids -- H.B. 149 -- in a desperate attempt to move the legislation forward.

A version of the bill is now before the House and Senate for final passage. Please take a moment to stop H.B. 149.

Murkowski is back and so are his draconian marijuana bills

The Alaska legislature opened its doors on another legislative session on January 9, and Gov. Murkowski (R) has made it clear that undermining privacy rights and jailing more Alaskans for minor marijuana offenses is, again, high on his list of priorities.

Last year, the governor had the legislature introduce twin bills, S.B. 74 and H.B. 96, in attempt to circumvent rulings by Alaska's courts defining the privacy rights of Alaskans and to raise the penalties for marijuana offenses across the board. In response, a dedicated alliance of organizations and individuals, including Alaskans for Marijuana Regulation and Control (AMRC) and the Alaska Civil Liberties Union, along with the Marijuana Policy Project and the national ACLU, launched a heated campaign to stop these bills.

The campaign worked, and the bills stalled in committee, but because Alaska's legislative season spans two sessions, the bills will begin this year where they stalled last year.

The battle will again be uphill, but we are prepared to fight the battle anew and kill these bills for once and for all.

Murkowski's marijuana bills die as regular session ends

After months of uphill fighting, Gov. Frank Murkowski's (R) anti- marijuana bills died at midnight on May 10. The bills, S.B. 74 and H.B. 96, which would have raised the penalties for marijuana-related offenses across the board, were unable to gather momentum after stalling out in the Senate and House Judiciary Committees.

This outcome, which many said was impossible earlier in the year, was made possible by a dedicated alliance of organizations and individuals, including Alaskans for Marijuana Regulation and Control (AMRC) and the Alaska Civil Liberties Union (AkCLU), along with MPP and the national ACLU.

This outcome is the result of a campaign that attacked Murkowski's bills at every level.

AMRC funded statewide radio ads shedding light on several of the more ridiculous measures in the bills. In turn, this helped generate an avalanche of opposition to Murkowski's bills in the opinion pages of Alaska's papers.

The coalition generated thousands of pages of the most current science on marijuana and marshaled experts from all across Alaska, the Lower 48, and Europe to debunk the "findings" that bill proponents had inserted. In the face of the mountain of evidence, bill proponents were forced to pull their initial "findings." They replaced them with a second set of "findings" that were equally false and misleading.

AMRC also helped to generate hundreds of Public Opinion Messages from constituents in targeted districts that flooded legislators' offices throughout the session. Hundreds upon hundreds of Alaskans let their opinions be known, and the legislators responded -- by refusing Murkowski's prods to move the bill.

Just five days before his bills died, Murkowski proclaimed, "I want marijuana -- this session," calling it a "must-have."

But in the end, the wave of public resistance, coupled with the clear weight of the evidence, was too much for Murkowski's bills ... this session. However, it is very likely that Murkowski's bills will be back next session with a new veneer covering their old arguments. And we will be back to fight them.

H.B. 96 and S.B. 74 would have created a new class of felon. According to the Alaska Public Defender Agency, of the 500 misdemeanor cases primarily involving marijuana it handles every year, more than half would have become felonies. If the governor had his way, the penalty for possession of four ounces of marijuana will be the same penalty as for incest with a minor.

Besides dramatically eroding Alaskans' constitutionally guaranteed right to privacy and equating adult marijuana users with violent criminals and sexual offenders, these measures would have cost Alaska millions in prison and court costs. This would have effectively hamstrung Alaska's criminal justice system: Hundreds of people who would have received misdemeanors would have been taking up space for years in state prisons; at the same time, the increased priority of marijuana's felony status would have diverted millions in police man- hours and resources from violent crimes.

And the bills will certainly ensnare medical marijuana patients and their caregivers.

Specifically, H.B. 96 and S.B. 74 proposed the following changes to the law:

1. Currently, it is a Class B Felony (up to 10 years) to give marijuana to anyone under 19 who is at least three years younger than the offender.
   
   Murkowski's bills would have increased the age to 21 and eliminate the requirement of a three-year age difference.
2. Currently, it is a Class C Felony (up to five years) for possessing one pound or more of marijuana.
   
   Murkowski's bills would have decreased the weight from one pound or more to four or more ounces of marijuana.
3. Currently, there is no penalty strictly for possessing marijuana while operating a vehicle.
   
   Murkowski's bills would have created a Class A Misdemeanor (up to one year) penalty for possessing any amount of marijuana while operating a vehicle.
4. Currently, it is a Class B Misdemeanor (up to 90 days) to possess less than eight ounces of marijuana.
5. Murkowski's bills would have created three new Class B Misdemeanors:
   • Transferring or intending to transfer less than 1/2 ounce of marijuana;
   • Possessing any amount of marijuana while a passenger in a vehicle;
   • While operating a vehicle, knowingly permitting a passenger to possess marijuana.
6. Currently, the aggregate weight of live plants for criminal purposes is judged by the weight of the marijuana when reduced to its commonly used form. Murkowski's bills would have changed the standard for determining the aggregate weight of live plants to 1/6 of the weight of the plant after the roots have been removed.