cannabisnews.com: Assembly To Take a Stand on Marijuana Initiative Assembly To Take a Stand on Marijuana Initiative Posted by CN Staff on October 22, 2004 at 15:17:46 PT By Diana Campbell, Staff Writer Source: News-Miner The Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly will likely take a stand against the legalization of marijuana next week. Borough Mayor Jim Whitaker, along with Assembly members Garry Hutchison and Bonnie Williams, introduced a resolution that calls for public opposition of Ballot Initiative No. 2 at a Borough Assembly work session Thursday night. Voters will decide on Nov. 2 whether or not to legalize marijuana."This is an excellent resolution," said Hutchison, who said little has been done to oppose the strong advertising paid for by those who support the initiative. "I urge others to sign on as a co-sponsor."Earl Romans, Connie Henry, Charlie Rex, Terry Aldridge and Randy Frank added their names to the resolution. Eileen Cummings said she didn't sign on because the resolution urged people to vote no on the measure. "We can tell them our opinion but we shouldn't tell them how to vote," she said. She said she would introduce an amendment that would strike that phrase at next week's regular meeting when the resolution comes up for a vote. Tim Beck said he thought some of the language might conflict with marijuana use for medical reasons and wanted to study the issue further."I want to hear more information about it," he said. Guy Sattley said he would oppose the resolution because he didn't think such resolutions were appropriate for the assembly. "I think there'll be enough votes to pass it," Sattley said.Randy Frank said he supported the resolution because there is a lot of misinformation about the initiative being presented to the public, he said.Hank Bartos was on an excused absence. Here are the main points of the resolution: * It is not a step in the right direction and sends a wrong message to others about Alaska.* Legalizing marijuana conflicts with federal law.* Voters criminalized marijuana use in 1990 in an effort to reduce drug abuse and addiction.* Giving 21-year olds access to the drug would increase the likelihood of drugs in schools.* Would remove existing state regulations for medical marijuana use.The assembly will vote on the resolution Thursday at its 6 p.m. meeting at the chambers of the borough administration building, 809 Pioneer Road.Source: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (AK)Author: Diana Campbell, Staff Writer Published: Friday, October 22, 2004 Copyright: 2004 Fairbanks Publishing Company, Inc.Contact: letters newsminer.comWebsite: http://www.news-miner.com/ Related Articles & Web Site:Yes on 2 Alaskahttp://www.yeson2alaska.com/Marijuana Proponents Sue State, Lemanhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19693.shtmlHashing It Outhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19661.shtmlLet's Focus On Real Criminalshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19660.shtmlAnti-Pot Passage in Voter Guide Draws Firehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19658.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #7 posted by FoM on October 23, 2004 at 08:21:18 PT Request from The Marijuana Policy Project To help pass the initiative -- from the comfort of your home, anywhere in the country -- visit: http://mpp.grassroots.com/alaska and sign up to volunteer. All you need is a phone, a computer, and a spare hour or two. You can make as many or as few calls as you'd like. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by OverwhelmSam on October 22, 2004 at 19:14:12 PT Mahatma Ghandi First they laugh at you, then they ignore you, then they fight you, and then you win. ~Mahatma GhandiBased on current elected official's actions across America, we should be winning any day now.The US Congess is the answer. Since they're preoccupied with messages, if speaker of the house was ousted, it would send a very stong message to politicians. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by siege on October 22, 2004 at 19:10:58 PT walk Naked When the news broke, on August 9th, of Mayor Jim Whitaker's pledge to walk Naked down Dewey Street if $5,000 was raised http://www.pphs.com/news.htm [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by billos on October 22, 2004 at 19:01:20 PT I think I remember George Orwell's ......... 1984. I vaguely remember a scene where the loudspeakers staged in public would blare the same thing over and over, until people believed it.George was off by only 20 years. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by cloud7 on October 22, 2004 at 16:30:48 PT ... "Giving 21-year olds access to the drug would increase the likelihood of drugs in schools."I can't imagine it getting any easier to find drugs in schools unless vending machines were installed with them. And why would 21 year olds have anything to do with grade schools? They are not the ones dealing there. The anti's lies begin with the assumption that access to marijuana is severly limited now and that is absolutely incorrect. More or less, the people who smoke now will be the people who smoke when it is legal. Of course, other than high school kids, since they would find it much more difficult to get. There would likely be a spike in usage immediately after passage followed by gradual tapering off to current levels of usage or below. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by mayan on October 22, 2004 at 16:28:57 PT Frenzied Fascists Eileen Cummings said she didn't sign on because the resolution urged people to vote no on the measure. "We can tell them our opinion but we shouldn't tell them how to vote," she said. She said she would introduce an amendment that would strike that phrase at next week's regular meeting when the resolution comes up for a vote.This resolution reeks of desperation and will surely backfire as Alaskans don't appreciate being told how to vote!A tradition of terror: http://cannabisculture.com/articles/3579.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Richard Paul Zuckerm on October 22, 2004 at 16:19:21 PT: HAVE THE LAWS AGAINST MARIHUANA HELPED ALASKA? What that public body failed to address is whether the drug laws have helped Alaskans. Does it help Alaskans to lock Cannabis "offenders" in jail, with the concomitant taxation for law enforcement and prisons? Better yet: How has the Alaska Supreme Court Ravin v. State decision injured Alaskans?Legalization of Cannabis would benefit Alaskans to facilitate freedom from unjustifiable arrest. If the government would sell it like tobacco, it would ensure purity and security from contamination by harmful additives. Berkeley, California, has a Ballot Initiative on this, www.taxandregulate.com. Finally, and most strikingly, it is an HORRENDOUS HYPOCRISY that American citizens can be arrested for Cannabis use while the United States CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY launders over $600 Billion of drug money thru Wall Street, every year, with impunity, www.fromthewilderness.com!!!!!!!! The American people have been duped by the PROPAGANDA by the federal drug czar's office. The use of BOGUS scientific studies and conclusions was part of the plan to control the world population in the REPORT FROM IRON MOUNTAIN!! Government schools do not teach the dark side of government, though, www.johntaylorgatto.com.Richard Paul Zuckerman, Box 159, Metuchen, New Jersey, 08840-0159, (Cell telephone number)(908) 403-6990, richardzuckerman2002 yahoo.com [ Post Comment ] Post Comment