House passes 24 PLANT LIMIT!

Legal in AK

Active Member
I think until we see it legal on a Federal level the restrictions and handcuffs will continue to stick around. I agree though let it be at our own discretion and choice without the worry of prosecution. Alaska is making great strides though and I think when its all set and done our system of legalization will be unlike any other and it will thrive!
I disagree. Right now we have the most regulations out of all the states (even California). As you can see from the rec industry in Washington, over regulation too early will stifle innovation an entrepreneurship. Any other plant I grow won't have this much regulation around it, why does cannabis need it?
 

907_Tree_Burner

Active Member
I disagree. Right now we have the most regulations out of all the states (even California). As you can see from the rec industry in Washington, over regulation too early will stifle innovation an entrepreneurship. Any other plant I grow won't have this much regulation around it, why does cannabis need it?
Eh we are 2-3 months into this with a long way to go to figure everything out. I have great hope because people in different boroughs have continued to shoot down people like Amy Demboski who try to go against what voters want. California is not even a "Legal" State so mentioning them with us, Colorado, Oregon, and DC is wrong. As long as the Fed. Government has it where it is States will all be reluctant to completely open up and be regulation free. One Idea already being tossed around is Alaska and Alaskans creating a new bank, its own just to remove worry for Business owners and the money they make and that is just one way Alaska is looking to set themselves apart. We wont face the many issues that lower 48 do because we dont have to worry about border states and it moving in and out across them. I understand why you are not happy because I am not either but come back to this in a year or two and I bet its a way more positive vibe. Dont be angry be optimistic!
 

elkamino

Well-Known Member
Not without flaws but lookin good in the AK House. bongsmiliebongsmiliebongsmilie

Rep Cathy Tilton in a commentary in today's ADN says they're going with 24 plants/house and establishments for social marijuana consumption similar to bars for alcohol. Not passed yet and all hell could still break loose but this feels like progress to me. :joint:

https://www.adn.com/article/20150408/municipal-marijuana-hb-75-helps-alaska-communities-regulate-new-industry

Municipal marijuana: HB 75 helps Alaska communities regulate a new industry
Rep. Cathy Tilton
April 8, 2015
OPINION:

Last November, Alaskans voted to support the legalization and commercialization of marijuana, following the example of Colorado and Washington. The campaign supporting that ballot measure was the "campaign to regulate marijuana like alcohol.”

House Bill 75 is one of the marijuana bills under consideration by the Legislature that seeks to do that — at least to the extent practicable and consistent with how our municipalities manage alcohol establishments and the various licenses under Title 4 (alcohol).

HB 75 is a work product of the House Community and Regional Affairs and Judiciary Committees, more than a dozen municipal attorneys throughout Alaska and attorneys for the Marijuana Policy Project — the group that drafted the initiative language.

Shortly after last year’s general election, several municipalities and the Alaska Municipal League came to the House Community and Regional Affairs committee asking the Legislature to provide greater clarity for several of the initiative’s provisions and expressing the need for additional definitions.

HB 75 is as much about the process used to develop it as it is about the specific policy contents of the bill. Rather than telling our boroughs and cities what they were going to do, the Community and Regional Affairs Committee asked them what they needed us to do.

During the development of the bill, it was the committee’s intent to provide our municipalities with a vehicle to address the most immediate and pressing issues identified to us. HB 75 is “fix it” legislation.

Here is a 40,000-foot overview:
HB 75 establishes a household plant limit. Currently the limit is a maximum of 24 plants per household, an increase from the original version in the Community and Regional Affairs committee substitute. We’ve heard consistently from municipalities that one important thing they need is a hard number, and they’ve said they don’t care what it is, as long as there is one. When looking at Alaska’s census data, this limit is sufficient to meet the provisions of the initiative for the average Alaska household.

Both state (AS 04.21.015) and federal (27 CFR §25.206) law limit the amount of beer an individual can brew in their own home. Since the initiative campaign was the “campaign to regulate marijuana like alcohol,” we felt that this was consistent with the advertised intent of the initiative.

• HB 75 provides clarity about how “assisting” is defined.

• HB 75 provides for a protest and review process. Similar to the processes established for alcohol licenses, the bill provides for a protest and review process to Alaska’s municipalities regarding commercial marijuana registrations.

• HB 75 provides for a local option election process for established villages to “opt out” of allowing commercial marijuana establishments. Again, it's nearly identical to provisions included in Title 4 governing alcohol.

• HB 75 provides for the “marijuana clubs” as a new type of commercial establishment. This was at the express request of numerous municipalities. Our municipalities thought it was important to have a statutory definition so that they were clear on what that could allow for or ban.

• HB 75 clarifies how municipalities must conduct local processes within the construct of the State Administrative Procedures Act. Many municipalities have their own version of AS 44.62, substantially similar to the state’s. They asked us to allow some flexibility to use their own ordinances when those ordinances exist.

• HB 75 clarifies for municipalities that, generally, any power they have to regulate alcohol establishments they also have to regulate marijuana establishments.

HB 75 is not a bill that opens up Title 29 and expands municipal authority. It is not a bill that attempts, or was ever intended, to address every issue associated with the passage of Ballot Measure 2.

It is my hope we can all recognize that Alaska’s municipalities need assistance -- assistance in the interests of public health, public safety and protection of trade -- as they attempt to write their ordinances and prepare for this new industry.

The campaign promoting Ballot Measure 2 was advertised as “the campaign to regulate marijuana like alcohol,” and HB 75, in a limited scope, does precisely that.

Rep. Cathy Tilton represents House District 12, which encompasses the communities of Butte, Chugiak, Eklutna, Fairview Loop and Peters Creek. She is a 30-year resident of the Mat-Su valley area and grew up fishing rivers near Chugiak with her grandparents.
 

Legal in AK

Active Member
Eh we are 2-3 months into this with a long way to go to figure everything out. I have great hope because people in different boroughs have continued to shoot down people like Amy Demboski who try to go against what voters want. California is not even a "Legal" State so mentioning them with us, Colorado, Oregon, and DC is wrong. As long as the Fed. Government has it where it is States will all be reluctant to completely open up and be regulation free. One Idea already being tossed around is Alaska and Alaskans creating a new bank, its own just to remove worry for Business owners and the money they make and that is just one way Alaska is looking to set themselves apart. We wont face the many issues that lower 48 do because we dont have to worry about border states and it moving in and out across them. I understand why you are not happy because I am not either but come back to this in a year or two and I bet its a way more positive vibe. Dont be angry be optimistic!
Half of the entire marijuana industry exists solely in California. To not include them in the conversation would just be silly. The industry we have today wouldn't exist if it weren't for the progress that was made in California.
 

907_Tree_Burner

Active Member
Half of the entire marijuana industry exists solely in California. To not include them in the conversation would just be silly. The industry we have today wouldn't exist if it weren't for the progress that was made in California.
Sure but they are not even legal...every sale unless it belongs to a Medical Card hold is still illegal...none of what they say or do really has any bearing on a state that is trying to come up with laws in a legal system..are they great at growing? Hell yes...but from a legal standpoint they are behind us and ideas they have for legalization mean squat until they join us and the other lawfully legal states...but Im not trying to argue and I understand your ideas and wants from our Government as I agree as well but you sound like you dont have much faith in the right thing being done in the end and just based on the fact we passed ballot measure 2 I say have faith and let the process play out and if you still feel ripped off or its inadequate then lets get angry together because we both want the same things in the end...
 
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Legal in AK

Active Member
Sure but they are not even legal...every sale unless it belongs to a Medical Card hold is still illegal...none of what they say or do really has any bearing on a state that is trying to come up with laws in a legal system..are they great at growing? Hell yes...but from a legal standpoint they are behind us and ideas they have for legalization mean squat until they join us and the other lawfully legal states...but Im not trying to argue and I understand your ideas and wants from our Government as I agree as well but you sound like you dont have much faith in the right thing being done in the end and just based on the fact we passed ballot measure 2 I say have faith and let the process play out and if you still feel ripped off or its inadequate then lets get angry together because we both want the same things in the end...
Want to know why it's not legal in Cali yet? Because they won't fall for a piece of bullshit ballot measure proposition written by outside interests. Behind Alaska how? They have already been dealing with regulating cannabis at the local level for years now, that's something Alaska has never dealt with before. Take a look at the legislation that's being proposed and compare it to the rights of California medical patients. I will bet you $$$ that Californians have more rights in their medical system then Alaskans have in their rec system, not to mention Alaska's medical system has been the ongoing joke of the medical community for 17 years, 1 patient to 1 patent only what's next CBD only? If I had a year's supply of cannabis for myself, I would be thrown in federal prison in Alaska, in California the cops would not even bat an eye. My access to cannabis as a medical patient in California far exceeds your access to cannabis as a recreational/medical user of cannabis in Alaska. Let's not forget the face of Alaska marijuana movement is in California right now, why? Because this is the place to be. This is the place to learn. This is the place that sets the trends. California has the highest concentration of hippies and rappers in the nation, and why do you think that? Because the best bud in the world comes from California. Guess where all those guys out in Colorado started out? California. What collective set the trend for delivery services in Alaska? End of the Road delivery in Homer, Alaska, brought to you by a local Alaskan trained in California. Have a slice of some humble pie, and enjoy your California genetics.
 

907_Tree_Burner

Active Member
Want to know why it's not legal in Cali yet? Because they won't fall for a piece of bullshit ballot measure proposition written by outside interests. Behind Alaska how? They have already been dealing with regulating cannabis at the local level for years now, that's something Alaska has never dealt with before. Take a look at the legislation that's being proposed and compare it to the rights of California medical patients. I will bet you $$$ that Californians have more rights in their medical system then Alaskans have in their rec system, not to mention Alaska's medical system has been the ongoing joke of the medical community for 17 years, 1 patient to 1 patent only what's next CBD only? If I had a year's supply of cannabis for myself, I would be thrown in federal prison in Alaska, in California the cops would not even bat an eye. My access to cannabis as a medical patient in California far exceeds your access to cannabis as a recreational/medical user of cannabis in Alaska. Let's not forget the face of Alaska marijuana movement is in California right now, why? Because this is the place to be. This is the place to learn. This is the place that sets the trends. California has the highest concentration of hippies and rappers in the nation, and why do you think that? Because the best bud in the world comes from California. Guess where all those guys out in Colorado started out? California. What collective set the trend for delivery services in Alaska? End of the Road delivery in Homer, Alaska, brought to you by a local Alaskan trained in California. Have a slice of some humble pie, and enjoy your California genetics.
Thats fair but our Rec system isnt even set up so your judgement of that is pretty premature but Im reading the Medical Laws in Cali and its not as great and open as you make it sound. We established that Cali is a great wealth of knowledge when it comes to growing/genetics/medical set up but we cant look to them as a state who has not even legalized for ways to set up our own laws/rules/restrictions and such. How can you say we ned to learn how to make laws to manage Rec businesses from a place that has none? That leaves me lost in thought. My strains are from Europe and Canada and I have no idea where they started from and that is no concern when we are talking about laws/restrictions or what we are or arnt allowed to have. We are not the only state in America who has legalized it but not had a set up for them to get the medication they need. You really sound like you have no faith in the system or Alaskans to make sure things go through in a way thats right and just. I thought this post was about the rules that are/will be set forth from a state that has now made it legal and the only people we can look too for advice on that are the ones who have done it before us and Cali is not one of them and thats fact. Humble pie? No thanks I like my state and have great faith in it so go ahead and eat it yourself I insist..
 

elkamino

Well-Known Member
First a pic:
HLK Trichs.jpg
cuz this thread needs one.

Now a reminder. This thread is about HB 75. Please discuss productively or GTFO.

Full text:
http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill_text.asp?hsid=HB0075D&session=29

Recap:

HB 75 establishes a household plant limit. Currently the limit is a maximum of 24 plants per household, an increase from the original version in the Community and Regional Affairs committee substitute. We’ve heard consistently from municipalities that one important thing they need is a hard number, and they’ve said they don’t care what it is, as long as there is one. When looking at Alaska’s census data, this limit is sufficient to meet the provisions of the initiative for the average Alaska household.

Both state (AS 04.21.015) and federal (27 CFR §25.206) law limit the amount of beer an individual can brew in their own home. Since the initiative campaign was the “campaign to regulate marijuana like alcohol,” we felt that this was consistent with the advertised intent of the initiative.

• HB 75 provides clarity about how “assisting” is defined.

• HB 75 provides for a protest and review process. Similar to the processes established for alcohol licenses, the bill provides for a protest and review process to Alaska’s municipalities regarding commercial marijuana registrations.

• HB 75 provides for a local option election process for established villages to “opt out” of allowing commercial marijuana establishments. Again, it's nearly identical to provisions included in Title 4 governing alcohol.

• HB 75 provides for the “marijuana clubs” as a new type of commercial establishment. This was at the express request of numerous municipalities. Our municipalities thought it was important to have a statutory definition so that they were clear on what that could allow for or ban.

• HB 75 clarifies how municipalities must conduct local processes within the construct of the State Administrative Procedures Act. Many municipalities have their own version of AS 44.62, substantially similar to the state’s. They asked us to allow some flexibility to use their own ordinances when those ordinances exist.

• HB 75 clarifies for municipalities that, generally, any power they have to regulate alcohol establishments they also have to regulate marijuana establishments.

HB 75 is not a bill that opens up Title 29 and expands municipal authority. It is not a bill that attempts, or was ever intended, to address every issue associated with the passage of Ballot Measure 2.
 

907_Tree_Burner

Active Member
Sorry bro, this isn't your state, you weren't born here. My parents were cashing my PFD before I could even walk. You're just another import. Shut the fuck up and go back to Minnesota eh.
No need to start cussing I'm just voicing my opinion. You seem to have been negative on this post from the start and I don't understand it.I've lived here 21 years and by the way you are talking to me I would guess you don't reflect Alaska because the Alaskan way really is reflected by the native culture and ideas passed down. My wife is Yupik Eskimo and so are my 6 kids not to mention I live a subsistence lifestyle. This is my home and and always will be and I can and will continue to voice my opinion on ALL things Alaska.
 

907_Tree_Burner

Active Member
First a pic:
View attachment 3391761
cuz this thread needs one.

Now a reminder. This thread is about HB 75. Please discuss productively or GTFO.

Full text:
http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill_text.asp?hsid=HB0075D&session=29

Recap:

HB 75 establishes a household plant limit. Currently the limit is a maximum of 24 plants per household, an increase from the original version in the Community and Regional Affairs committee substitute. We’ve heard consistently from municipalities that one important thing they need is a hard number, and they’ve said they don’t care what it is, as long as there is one. When looking at Alaska’s census data, this limit is sufficient to meet the provisions of the initiative for the average Alaska household.

Both state (AS 04.21.015) and federal (27 CFR §25.206) law limit the amount of beer an individual can brew in their own home. Since the initiative campaign was the “campaign to regulate marijuana like alcohol,” we felt that this was consistent with the advertised intent of the initiative.

• HB 75 provides clarity about how “assisting” is defined.

• HB 75 provides for a protest and review process. Similar to the processes established for alcohol licenses, the bill provides for a protest and review process to Alaska’s municipalities regarding commercial marijuana registrations.

• HB 75 provides for a local option election process for established villages to “opt out” of allowing commercial marijuana establishments. Again, it's nearly identical to provisions included in Title 4 governing alcohol.

• HB 75 provides for the “marijuana clubs” as a new type of commercial establishment. This was at the express request of numerous municipalities. Our municipalities thought it was important to have a statutory definition so that they were clear on what that could allow for or ban.

• HB 75 clarifies how municipalities must conduct local processes within the construct of the State Administrative Procedures Act. Many municipalities have their own version of AS 44.62, substantially similar to the state’s. They asked us to allow some flexibility to use their own ordinances when those ordinances exist.

• HB 75 clarifies for municipalities that, generally, any power they have to regulate alcohol establishments they also have to regulate marijuana establishments.

HB 75 is not a bill that opens up Title 29 and expands municipal authority. It is not a bill that attempts, or was ever intended, to address every issue associated with the passage of Ballot Measure 2.
I hear you loud and clear ...keep on task and so very sorry didn't mean to have things end up this way
 

elkamino

Well-Known Member
Want to know why it's not legal in Cali yet? Because they won't fall for a piece of bullshit ballot measure proposition written by outside interests. Behind Alaska how? They have already been dealing with regulating cannabis at the local level for years now, that's something Alaska has never dealt with before. Take a look at the legislation that's being proposed and compare it to the rights of California medical patients. I will bet you $$$ that Californians have more rights in their medical system then Alaskans have in their rec system, not to mention Alaska's medical system has been the ongoing joke of the medical community for 17 years, 1 patient to 1 patent only what's next CBD only? If I had a year's supply of cannabis for myself, I would be thrown in federal prison in Alaska, in California the cops would not even bat an eye. My access to cannabis as a medical patient in California far exceeds your access to cannabis as a recreational/medical user of cannabis in Alaska. Let's not forget the face of Alaska marijuana movement is in California right now, why? Because this is the place to be. This is the place to learn. This is the place that sets the trends. California has the highest concentration of hippies and rappers in the nation, and why do you think that? Because the best bud in the world comes from California. Guess where all those guys out in Colorado started out? California. What collective set the trend for delivery services in Alaska? End of the Road delivery in Homer, Alaska, brought to you by a local Alaskan trained in California. Have a slice of some humble pie, and enjoy your California genetics.
Are you in Cali? What's your AK connection? And why you so harsh?
 

elkamino

Well-Known Member
House committee plans new draft of marijuana crime bill
MOLLY DISCHNER, ASSOCIATED PRESS
April 10, 2015 Updated: April 10, 2015 6:49pm
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A new draft of the marijuana crime bill is expected in the House Judiciary Committee next week.

The Senate in March passed a version of the bill drafted in the Senate Finance Committee that kept marijuana as a controlled substance in Alaska. The crime bill would update state laws to reflect what remains illegal after Alaska voters legalized limited recreational marijuana last year.

House Judiciary chair Gabrielle LeDoux, R-Anchorage, said the new draft expected to come before her committee will be based more on the work done in the Senate Judiciary Committee, which would have removed marijuana from the state's list of controlled substances.

But LeDoux said the new draft would address issues with both versions that were brought up in testimony to her committee. The Senate Judiciary and Finance versions of the bill created different crimes and penalties for illegal activity, and they had different implications for some small communities.

Amy Saltzman, a legislative aide who has worked on the bill all session, told the committee that the Senate Finance draft addressed issues from the prior version, including allowing minors in marijuana establishments if necessary for a job and changing a daily purchase limit for concentrates so that it simply applied to each transaction.

The Senate Finance version of the bill would have prohibited commercial and retail marijuana businesses outside of organized boroughs or municipalities and allow established villages to choose to have such establishments. But a Copper Center resident told the House Judiciary Committee that would mean his community couldn't opt back in, despite having voted in favor of legalizing marijuana. That could be a problem for some other communities as well, such as Tok.

The committee's next hearing on the bill is scheduled for Wednesday. The scheduled end is April 19.

Cynthia Franklin, director of the state Alcoholic Beverage Control board, which is responsible for drafting marijuana regulations unless a marijuana board is created, told the committee some sort of crime bill would help law enforcement stop illegal activity related to marijuana.
 

elkamino

Well-Known Member
OK, this is very good news. From today's Fairbanks New-Miner.

House panel bill rewrite will move marijuana to regulated substances list
[email protected]

JUNEAU — The House Judiciary Committee plans to move marijuana from the state’s list of controlled substances to regulated substances, its chairwoman announced Friday.

The move to rewrite Senate Bill 30, which chiefly deals with updating the state’s existing criminal code, is a departure from the approach taken by the Senate but one state officials say will improve regulation and enforcement.

Cynthia Franklin, the director of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, which is charged with forming regulations for marijuana, testified in support of moving marijuana into a regulated substance, matching the will of the voters who passed Ballot Measure 2 last fall. She said it ultimately will help consolidate existing crimes and penalties for marijuana misconduct, allowing the stronger and clearer standards for regulators and law enforcement.

“It was their intention and desire that marijuana be a legal substance for individuals 21 and older,” she said. “That makes it in the same category as alcohol: a legal, but dangerous and regulated substance. Having those rules in one place makes it easier, we believe for law enforcement to understand them.”

Franklin said leaving marijuana in a controlled status will confuse the issue for law enforcement officers, who have to bounce between two sections of law to determine what is and isn’t legal conduct.

As the bill has moved through the Legislature, the debate over treating marijuana like a controlled substance or a regulated substance has featured prominently in public testimony.

In its review of Senate Bill 30, the Senate Judiciary Committee decided to move marijuana into the regulated substances based on that testimony, but that action was undone in the Senate Finance Committee.

Senate Finance Co-chair Sen. Anna MacKinnon, R-Eagle River, defended the decision to keep marijuana among controlled substances on the Senate floor, pointing to federal law.

At the end of the Friday hearing, committee chairwoman Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux, R-Anchorage, who has been one of the most vocal supporters of defending the initiative and voter intent, said based on public response and Franklin’s testimony that the committee will adopt an updated version of Senate Bill 30 that will move marijuana into the regulated substances list.

On hearing the news of the planned change, Senate Majority Leader John Coghill, R-North Pole, said the bill likely will be a nonstarter in the Senate.

“We just couldn’t get enough support to go that way,” he said.

With less than 10 days left in the session, it makes the passage of Senate Bill 30 unclear if the two bodies can’t agree on how to treat marijuana.

The bill still needs to exit from the House Judiciary Committee, clear the busy House Finance Committee and pass the House floor.

In addition to addressing the status of marijuana, the bill lessens many crimes for possessing marijuana in greater than the one ounce allowed under Ballot Measure 2. It also clarifies what constitutes usable marijuana, excluding stalks from the weight limits, and creates some penalties for driving while under the influence of marijuana and for providing marijuana to underage people.

Contact staff writer Matt Buxton at 459-7544. Follow him on Twitter: @FDNMpolitics.
 

elkamino

Well-Known Member
I'm kind of a news geek and search like a mofo for any mj news I can find and I gotta say I'm impressed with the Fairbanks News Miner's coverage. ADN too, but I expect excellence from them. Speaking of though I think the ADN's reporting on cannabis has been pretty good when done by reporters Laurel Andrews and Molly Dischner. Their Cannabis North column that answers reader submitted questions is a bit flat. He goes very in depth but his tone is annoying and his jokes bomb.

ANYWAY, the FB paper has a good story updating what's happenng in Juneau. Its long but worth reading if you're interested in a glimpse of how your legislators are dealing with cannabis. Most impressive to me is the ABC board chair Cynthia Franklin, she really seems committed to managing cannabis like alcohol and has a way easier time doing it than the meddlesome legislators. bongsmilie

http://www.newsminer.com/news/alaska_news/alaska-house-passes-bill-setting-up-marijuana-control-board/article_dc178dd6-e310-11e4-b187-536c63cc385f.html

Alaska House passes bill setting up Marijuana Control Board

JUNEAU — Time might be running out for most of the Legislature's many bills on marijuana, but the House on Tuesday passed a bill to create a board tasked with pot regulations.

In a 25-15 vote, the House approved House Bill 123 to create the Marijuana Control Board as outlined by the voter initiative that legalized marijuana last fall.

The board was outlined as an option for the Legislature in Ballot Measure 2, which legalized personal possession of marijuana and created a roadmap for commercial marijuana sales.

The bill would set up the board with shared staff with the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, which is the default body in charge of forming regulations and has already begun work on those regulations.

Ballot Measure 2 requires the state to adopt regulations by November and begin issuing licenses by May 2016.

The Marijuana Control Board would have five volunteer members—one from public safety, one from public health, one from rural Alaska, one working in the marijuana industry and another from either the general public or actively engaged in the marijuana industry.

The board would cost the state about $1.5 million a year and add four more employees — a business registration examiner and three investigators who would also work on alcohol regulations.

Fairbanks Democratic Rep. David Guttenberg said he supported Ballot Measure 2 because "it was time to move into the real world." He said he initially supported the Legislature taking a strong role in deciding the outlines of regulations but that so far he's been unconvinced that the Legislature is up to the task.

"This body has troubled me in its decision-making process on this issue," he said.

Rep. Steve Thompson, a Fairbanks Republican who co-chairs the House Finance Committee, urged support for the bill both to meet the will of the voters as well as to help control the cost of regulation.

"This is important to get into place at this time, and, if we don’t, we’re going to have a real problem," he said.

Some of the strongest support for the bill was put forward by Rep. Benjamin Nageak, D-Barrow. Nageak said that people act very differently while using alcohol and marijuana and said there should be separate systems in place to regulate them.

"(With alcohol) you start beating your wife, your kids, you start abusing people. That's a completely different kind of high that we're talking about. You ever been around high people? They make you laugh," he said. "I mean, geez, every time I see someone high, I want to go over because I'm going to laugh. I don't want to go over to someone who's drunk and have them start abusing me."

The second-term rural Democrat generated the most laughs when he said bluntly, "I'd much rather be around happy people than unhappy people."

Still, many legislators opposed the bill out of concern that it doesn't specifically bar felons or people with drug misdemeanors from holding a marijuana license or working at a marijuana business.

Anchorage Republican Rep. Bob Lynn had proposed an amendment that would have prevented people with a felony conviction or a drug misdemeanor in the past five years from owning or working at a marijuana business. The amendment failed 26-14.

It was a sticking point for at least half a dozen legislators who cited the failure of the amendment when standing up to speak in opposition to the bill itself.

"I think that’s a really good policy," said Rep. Mike Hawker, R-Anchorage, "but I am horribly afraid that by us rejecting it that it will be taken as a statement of affirmation that we want felons to be able to own marijuana establishments."

In a later floor speech, Anchorage Democratic Rep. Max Gruenberg pointed out that case law has firmly established that rejecting one measure may not be misconstrued for support of the opposite.

After the floor vote, Alcoholic Beverage Control Board Director Cynthia Franklin said she intends for marijuana's felony regulations to be the same as what is currently in place for alcohol license owners.

Currently, anyone with a felony in the last 10 years does not automatically qualify for a license. But she said the board does have flexibility to look at extenuating circumstances, like the person going through rigorous treatment over many years, and grant a license.

The state doesn't have a blanket ban on employees with a criminal record working at alcohol establishments.

Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux, an Anchorage Republican who as the chairwoman of the House Judiciary Committee has led the discussion on marijuana laws, pointed out that those issues are being addressed by the alcohol board. She said putting it into law is onerous.

"That’s why we have boards, so we don’t have to stick everything into the statute," she said, adding that even if the board exercises its flexibility to allow the rare felon a license that "I don't see that as the end of the world."

There was some talk after the floor session about voting on the bill under reconsideration Wednesday with the intention of offering a tailored version of the felony amendment.

The revisited amendment would only ban a felon from obtaining a marijuana license and would not affect employment. Still, after the floor vote that change didn't appear to make any difference for members who had opposed the first version of the amendment.

After Wednesday's reconsideration vote, the bill will move over to the Senate. The Senate version of the bill currently has three committee referrals, but some in the chamber's leadership have expressed interest in getting it into law before they are scheduled to gavel out this weekend.

Contact staff writer Matt Buxton at 459-7544. Follow him on Twitter: @FDNMpolitics.
 

elkamino

Well-Known Member
Anyone read these news updates? If not I'll stop postin. :eyesmoke:

Meantime...

House adds more restrictions to Marijuana Control Board bill
Laurel Andrews
Alaska Dispatch News
April 15, 2015

House Bill 123 would create a Marijuana Control Board tasked with crafting regulations and enforcing those laws.

The bill includes a fiscal note to the tune of $1.57 million. The funding would allow for the expansion of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board’s staff and resources, as the Marijuana Control Board would share the ABC Board’s staff and director.

When Alaska’s marijuana initiative went into effect on Feb. 24, it gave the Legislature the power to create a Marijuana Control Board. If no board is created, it’s up to the ABC Board to create the regulations.

Either way, the board would still need additional funding to regulate a new substance, ABC Board Director Cynthia Franklin has said.

The bill now heads to the state Senate in the final days of the legislative session.
 

elkamino

Well-Known Member
From the campaign to regulate mj like alcohol...



Alaska: Key bill in support of Measure 2 passes House!


Take a moment to encourage your senator to pass HB 123 without delay

Dear Supporter:

The Alaska House of Representatives voted to establish a new Marijuana Control Board to be charged with implementing Ballot Measure 2. Among its many duties, the board authorized under HB 123 would adopt regulations, approve business applications, and regulate the emerging industry. HB 123 has now moved over to the Senate for approval, where it is likely to meet opposition from some members.

Tell your senator that establishing a Marijuana Control Board is essential to successful implementation of the people’s initiative.

We need your help to urge passage of this critically important bill. Without it, marijuana rulemaking will fall to the existing Alcoholic Beverage Control board.

Many states with either regulated retail programs or medical marijuana programs have similar boards. They help ensure that those who regulate businesses understand and respond to the needs of the local communities, the consumers, and those who serve them.

The formation of a regulatory board is an investment that can save the state both time and money. A properly regulated marijuana industry will create good jobs for Alaskans and generate millions of dollars in new revenue for the state at a time when we need it the most.

Please contact your senator today and ask for his or her support for HB 123.Then, please forward this message to friends, family, and supporters and help spread the word!

Sincerely,


Tim Hinterberger
Chairman
Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol
 
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