Bill mixing marijuana, methamphetamine enforcement advances LAW & ORDER: Effort would criminalize possession of any amount of pot.

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Bill mixing marijuana, methamphetamine enforcement
advances
LAW & ORDER: Effort would criminalize possession of any
amount of
pot.

By MATT VOLZ
The Associated Press

Published: January 20, 2006


JUNEAU -- The Alaska Senate on Thursday passed a bill
that
would
give
Gov. Frank Murkowski ammunition as he tries to overturn a
31-year-old
court precedent allowing marijuana in the home for
personal
use.
The Senate Finance Committee inserted the provisions of
Murkowski's
marijuana bill, which the governor has called must-pass
legislation,
into another piece of legislation meant to curb home
laboratory
production of methamphetamine.
The measure, which still must pass the House of
Representatives,
would
make possession of less than 4 ounces of marijuana a
misdemeanor.
Possession of more than 4 ounces would be a felony.
Current law makes it a misdemeanor to possess up to a
half-pound of
marijuana.
The Alaska Supreme Court ruled in 1975 that Alaskans
could
possess a
small amount of marijuana in their homes as a right to
privacy
issue. A
later decision defined that amount as up to 4 ounces.
Since 2003, when the Alaska Court of Appeals reversed a
1990
voter
referendum re-criminalizing possession of marijuana,
Murkowski's
Department of Law has been trying to lay the groundwork
to
overturn
the
courts' decisions.
The bill passed by the Senate on Thursday includes a list
of
findings
that conclude marijuana today is more potent and more a
threat to
public safety than it was 30 years ago.
Those findings are what will be needed for the matter to
stand up in
court if the new law is passed, Department of Law
officials
say.
The department expects a legal challenge to come quickly
if
the bill
becomes law.
"The court always has the final word on whether a statute
is
constitutional," said chief assistant attorney general
Dean
Guaneli.
"I
think it's incumbent on the Legislature to give the court
the best
guidance that it can to enact a piece of legislation."
Sen. Hollis French, D-Anchorage, said he seriously doubts
the
validity
of the bill's findings, calling it "bad science." For
example, even
if
there are higher levels of THC in marijuana today, there
is
no proof
those increased levels result in a higher threat to one's
health, he
said.
Guaneli said the findings are sound and he believes the
courts will
uphold the bill.
The bill also would restrict the sale of a popular
decongestant,
Sudafed, which is used in the manufacture of
methamphetamine. It
would
also list certain anabolic steroids as controlled
substances.
Before the bill passed the Senate, Sens. Lyda Green,
R-Wasilla, and
Tom
Wagoner, R-Kenai, added one last provision. Their
amendment
gives
the
state public safety commissioner the right to add other
products or
substances to the restricted list if the commissioner
finds
they are
being used to manufacture methamphetamine.
Wagoner and Green also attempted to insert a provision
preventing
the
courts from issuing injunctions or restraining orders
against the
public safety commissioner, but failed to receive the
required
two-thirds votes.
The bill now heads to the House. The governor's marijuana
bill was
not
heard in any House committee, meaning representatives
there
will
have
to vote on the Senate's changes without having gone
through
a full
vetting of the bill.
House Speaker John Harris, R-Valdez, said the measure
wouldn't be
brought to the House floor before Wednesday. He said
Republican
majority members haven't yet discussed how they would
deal
with the
bill.
If the House rejects the Senate's changes, and the Senate
does not
back
down, a conference committee would be appointed to work
out
a
compromise bill.
The bill is House Bill 149.

Are you a pothead, Psylvia? If we broke into your house,
would your
stash be easy to find?

The US allows individual States autonomy on the matter.

To break into Psylvia's house? I would think so.

Pfff.

pfff-t

Snort!

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ah

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ESPECIALLY that which is prohibited!

You'll not be warned again.

Danger...Danger..Will Robinson !!

You best not be warning high Earth Base Ossifers, or you'll have to
answer
to the dreaded Darth "nightnat" Vader.

YOU have been warned.

H.J. ( saving lives in usernet for over two weeks )

http://www.dailywav.com/0200/appraisl.wav

My sound card is defunct !

H.J..