cannabisnews.com: Alaskans To Vote on Marijuana Decriminalization Alaskans To Vote on Marijuana Decriminalization Posted by CN Staff on January 07, 2004 at 08:16:39 PT By Reuters Source: Reuters Anchorage -- Alaska voters will decide this fall whether to allow adults to possess and use marijuana in private, according to an initiative that was cleared on Tuesday for November's statewide ballot. Lt. Gov. Loren Leman certified that the sponsors gathered the necessary 28,783 signatures. But Gov. Frank Murkowski is likely to campaign against the initiative, said spokesman John Manly. "He has opposed marijuana liberalization for years," Manly said of the Republican governor, who served 22 years in the U.S. Senate. "My expectation is he will use his speeches and other public forums to speak out against it." The state Supreme Court in 1975 ruled that the Alaska constitution's strong privacy provisions, as well as the state's libertarian traditions, gave adults the right to possess and use small amounts of marijuana in their homes. In 1990, voters approved an initiative that re-criminalized marijuana. In 1998, Alaska voters approved an initiative that legalized medical use of marijuana. However, two years later, they rejected an initiative that would have legalized the drug entirely, along with granting legal amnesty and compensation to people convicted of past marijuana offenses. Last August, the state Court of Appeals threw out the marijuana conviction of a Fairbanks-area man, saying the 1975 Supreme Court ruling remained in effect despite the 1990 initiative. State Attorney General Gregg Renkes has said he will seek a reversal of that opinion from the Alaska Supreme Court. Source: Reuters Published: January 7, 2004Copyright: 2004 Reuters Limited Related Articles & Web Site:Free Hemp in Alaskahttp://www.freehempinak.org/Alaskans to Vote on Pot Legalization in '04 http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18067.shtmlPot Prop May Go On '04 Ballot http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17408.shtmlMarijuana Initiative May Make Ballot http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17405.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #3 posted by Virgil on January 07, 2004 at 17:35:15 PT The words of the iniative AN INITIATIVE TO DECRIMINALIZE AND REGULATE CANNABIS (HEMP INCLUDING MARIJUANA) BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: I. Add the following section to the criminal code of the State of Alaska, any laws or policies to the contrary notwithstanding: (1) Persons, 21 years or older, shall not be prosecuted, be denied any right or privilege, nor be subject to criminal or civil penalties for the possession, cultivation, distribution, or consumption of: (a) Industrial hemp products. Hemp farmers and manufacturers of industrial hemp products shall not be subject to any special zoning or licensing fees that are discriminatory or prohibitive. (b) Hemp medicinal preparations. (c) Hemp products for nutritional use. (d) Hemp products for personal use in private. The State or any political subdivisions thereof may not require a permit or license for non-commercial cultivation, transportation, distribution or consumption of any hemp product. (2) Definitions: (a) The term "hemp" means hemp, cannabis, or marijuana, or any part or preparation of the plant Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, Cannabis americana, or any species or variety of plant of the genus Cannabis. (b) The term "industrial hemp products" means all products made from hemp, cannabis, or marijuana, that are not designed or intended for human consumption, and includes, but is not limited to: paper, fiber, fuel, plastics, paint, seed for cultivation, animal feed, veterinary medicine, oil, plants used for crop rotation, erosion control, or weed control. (c) The term "hemp medicinal preparations" means all products made from hemp, cannabis, or marijuana, that are designed, intended, or used for human consumption, for the treatment of any disease, the relief of pain, or for any healing purpose including the treatment or relief of asthma, glaucoma, arthritis, anorexia, migraine, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, nausea, stress, for use as an antiemetic, or as any healing agent, or as an adjunct to any medical procedure or herbal treatment. (d) The term "hemp products for nutritional use" means the use of any hemp product intended for human consumption as food, for example, but not limited to: seed protein, seed oil, seed cake, or gruel, or any preparation thereof. (e) The term "personal use" means the use of any product, preparation or potency of hemp, cannabis, or marijuana, intended for any relaxational, ritual, spiritual, or other personal purpose. (f) The term "hemp intoxicating products" means any hemp product other than industrial hemp products, hemp medicinal preparations, or hemp products for nutritional use. (3) Hemp medicinal preparations are hereby restored to the available list of medicines in Alaska. Licensed physicians shall not be penalized for or restricted from prescribing or recommending hemp preparations for medical purposes to patients of any age. (4) Nothing in this bill prevents the regulation of hemp intoxicating products in a manner similar to alcohol or tobacco. (5) The manufacturing, marketing, distribution or sales between adults of equipment or accessories designed or marketed for use in the planting, cultivation, harvesting, curing, processing, packaging, storing, analyzing, consumption, or transportation of hemp, industrial hemp products, hemp medicinal preparations, hemp products for nutritional use, or hemp products for personal use shall not be prohibited. II. Nothing in this Act will bar the State or any political subdivisions thereof from enacting legislation, using reasonable standards to determine impairment, to regulate or prohibit persons under the influence of hemp from operating a motor vehicle, heavy machinery, or otherwise engaging in conduct which may affect public safety. III. Nothing in this Act will bar the State or any political subdivisions thereof from limiting the use of intoxicating hemp products in public places. IV. No part of this initiative shall be so construed as to nullify any prevailing laws concerning possession, use or manufacture of hemp intoxicating products by minors, nor any prevailing laws concerning a sale, barter or gift of hemp intoxicating products by or to minors. V. Severability: If any provision of this initiative, or the application of such provision to any person or circumstance, shall be held invalid by any court, the remainder of this initiative to the extent that it can be given effect, or the application of such provision to persons or circumstances other than those as to which it is held invalid, shall not be affected thereby, and to this end the provisions of this initiative are severable. VI. If any rival or conflicting initiative regulating any matter addressed by this initiative receives the higher affirmative vote, then all non-conflicting parts of this initiative shall become operative. VII. Purpose of Initiative: Construction. This initiative is an exercise of the powers of the Alaskan citizenry for the promotion and protection of the safety, welfare, health and privacy of the people, and the environment of the State, to allow for the industrial and medicinal type uses of hemp, to eliminate the evils associated with an illicit market for cannabis, and to promote temperance in the consumption of cannabis. It is hereby declared that the subject matter of this initiative involves in the highest degree, the economic, social, environmental and moral well-being and the safety of the citizens of Alaska and the State. All provisions of this initiative shall be generously interpreted for the accomplishment of these purposes. VIII. Effective Date. This initiative shall be effective when enacted according to law. Free Hemp In Alaska, Scot Dunnachie-Chair, 2603 Spenard Rd, Anchorage, AK 99501 http://www.freehempinak.org/ [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by jackson1040 on January 07, 2004 at 16:27:16 PT: LEGALIZEZ IT Weed is going to get the people happy so give them what they need! [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Virgil on January 07, 2004 at 11:02:20 PT There is need to free the weed. There is no blisswithout Free Cannabis.We have needs.Free the weed. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment