cannabisnews.com: City Council Just Says No To Legalizing Pot





City Council Just Says No To Legalizing Pot
Posted by CN Staff on October 26, 2004 at 07:28:57 PT
By Diana Campbell, Staff Writer
Source: News-Miner 
The Fairbanks City Council voted Monday night on a slightly watered-down resolution condemning the legalization of marijuana but stopped short of telling people how to vote on Proposition 2. Some council members expressed concern about whether or not it was the council's job to tell voters how to vote. But Mayor Steve Thompson and Councilman Jeff Johnson argued that marijuana use affects the health and safety of Fairbanks citizens and could affect the city budget.
"We can regulate the alcohol content of alcoholic beverages, but you can't regulate how much THC is in marijuana," Thompson argued.The marijuana resolution was part of a handful of business items discussed at Monday's regular city council meeting. The council approved revisions of the budget and new members to four different city boards. They also OK'd the sale of about 8 1/2 acres of land just off Lathrop Street and the Mitchell Expressway. Six people asked the council not to approve the marijuana resolution, half of whom said they use the plant for medicinal purposes.Peter Gordon, who said he couldn't sit down because of his severe injuries, dumped out bottles of powerful prescription pain relievers onto a table to show the council the pain he dealt with on a daily basis. He has a medical marijuana card, but no one can legally provide him the marijuana, he said. "I'm a patient trying to ease my pain," he said. One mother of five children, Joanna Pippenger, said she would rather see marijuana out of the hands of criminals. She didn't believe that if marijuana were legal that more children would have access to it, she said."We can trust parents to be responsible," Pippenger said.One man testified for the resolution."You people have an obligation to represent everybody, not these few people that have testified," said Nelson Miller. "I'm perfectly satisfied with the current marijuana laws."Councilman Scott Kawasaki was the lone no vote on the resolution. He argued that claims about marijuana being more powerful today than 30 years ago were not proven."For the record, I'm against Proposition 2," Kawasaki said. "I never smoked pot before. I just don't approve resolutions unless they meet the facts."The council voted to set the price tag on the Lathrop Street land at $430,000 and approved the sale of the land on Monday. The Tanana Valley Farmers Market had wanted to purchase the land earlier this year for $400,000 but the Fairbanks North Star Borough expressed interest in the land because of borough plans to develop a park off South Davis, said Pat Smith, the city's project manager. The city and the borough signed an agreement to that end, Smith said. The agreement expired in August with the borough offering $370,000 on the land, less than the market value, Smith said. The offer was rejected, Smith said. In the meantime the Farmers Market found land on College Road and has started building. Source: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (AK)Author: Diana Campbell, Staff WriterPublished: Tuesday, October 26, 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/Advocates Push Groundbreaking Measure in Alaska http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19709.shtmlYes on Measure 2: MJ Initiative Will Restore Orderhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19698.shtmlTranscript: The Abrams Report: Alaska Initiative http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19680.shtml Proposition 2 Would Help Fight Alaska's Warhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19620.shtml 
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Comment #2 posted by john wayne on November 02, 2004 at 11:35:33 PT
Rebuttal of prohib BS
"We can regulate the alcohol content of alcoholic beverages, but you can't regulate how much THC is in marijuana," Thompson argued."Cannabis users quickly requlate their intake to the strength of the cannabis they are using.  Besides, cannabis can be extravagantly labelled to show stregth, quality, etc.
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Comment #1 posted by OverwhelmSam on October 26, 2004 at 08:35:19 PT
Gateway Missing
I noticed that you see less and less of the gateway theory about marijuana. A word about the real gateway drugs: Mommy gives little Tommy some sweet cough syrup and says, "Here Tommy, this will make you feel better." Little Tommy sees people smoking to relax, drinking coffee to get going, and taking medication to "get better." Parents and Pharma ads become the gateway for minors. The government wants people to think it starts with marijuana. What a laugh. Nothing could be further from the truth. 
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