cannabisnews.com: Bill Mixing Marijuana, Methamphetamine Advances





Bill Mixing Marijuana, Methamphetamine Advances
Posted by CN Staff on January 20, 2006 at 07:09:35 PT
By Matt Volz, The Associated Press 
Source: Associated Press 
Juneau, Alaska -- 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. Note: Law & Order: Effort would criminalize possession of any amount of pot. Complete Title: Bill Mixing Marijuana, Methamphetamine Enforcement Advances Source: Associated Press (Wire)Author: Matt Volz, The Associated Press Published: January 20, 2006Copyright: 2006 The Associated Press Related Articles: Senate Passes Marijuana, Methamphetamine Billhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21497.shtmlChanges Approved To Marijuana-Meth Bill http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21494.shtmlOmnibus Drug Bill Headed for The Senate Floor http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21479.shtml
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Comment #10 posted by mayan on January 21, 2006 at 03:48:19 PT
Yellow Frank
Here's another take on Alaska. Murkowski and his fellow prohibitionist swine are doing everything they can to avoid debate. What's wrong Frankie? Afraid the truth will come out? Cowards.Alaska Bill to Recriminalize Marijuana Fast-Tracked, Passes Senate
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/419/fasttrack.shtml
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Comment #9 posted by mayan on January 20, 2006 at 17:00:41 PT
Futile
The department expects a legal challenge to come quickly if the bill becomes law.These fascist dolts are merely wasting time and the taxpayer's money. How dumb can you get?
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Comment #8 posted by b4daylight on January 20, 2006 at 15:15:31 PT
Ohh
This meth bill is nothing more than a feel good crime.I say this because if you can not buy it over the counter. Your going to steal it or import it. This is proven. law period. end of discussion.So it only hurts the intended subject. Not meth. In fact it raises crime, spawns Id theft, and results in cheaper and better illegal drugs. This is also proven fact law end of your puff.I know how you feel FOM very fustrated. I b wactin
opeaceoMuch like the way they fight this whole drugs war. Hurt people till they are reduced from harm.
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Comment #7 posted by b4daylight on January 20, 2006 at 15:03:46 PT
The bill is House Bill 149.
149 is 50I wonder if they will have hearings this time?Those were fantastic last year.I loved the Alaska callers who called or showed up.talk about real tv err radio...
any one got that link err file.....>?
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on January 20, 2006 at 10:33:49 PT
How Bad Does Marijuana Have To Be?
Can they say because a whole generation is still all in all ok that jail for marijuana is more harmful then the substance itself? Aren't the 60s generation a testament of it's lack of serious harm?
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on January 20, 2006 at 10:24:20 PT
runderwo
Here's an excerpt from the article.Of all the drugs the boomers have used, perhaps the four most notorious have been marijuana, hallucinogens, cocaine and heroin. Researchers have devoted enormous effort to studying those drugs' long-term effects. The results have been decidedly mixed.MARIJUANA The so-called demon weed turned out to be a lot less devilish than advertised. The popular image of the goofy, smoky slacker notwithstanding, a 2003 study in the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society found that even among regular users, there is no proof that pot causes irreversible cognitive damage. Memory does get cloudy, and learning new information does get harder, but those effects fade if the user does kick the habit. The drug may also diminish libido and fertility. (So much for its promised free-love properties.) And as with any intoxicating chemical, pot use can become chronic and compulsive, crowding out room for much else. "If you came to our adolescent program and saw the 16-year-old kids whose lives have become unmanageable as a result of pot use, you'd understand it's addictive," says psychologist Peter Provet, president of Odyssey House. "But a lot of people who use pot don't become addicts."Scientists haven't settled on whether repeated chestfuls of unfiltered marijuana smoke increase the risk of pulmonary disease and cancers of the mouth, throat and lungs. Although a recent study out of UCLA says no, practitioners in the field disagree. "There's certainly strong if not definitive evidence that long-term smokers take in a lot of particulates and carcinogens," says Dr. Robert Raicht, medical director of Odyssey House.
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Comment #4 posted by runderwo on January 20, 2006 at 10:16:18 PT
FoM
Thanks for that article. I like how realistic it is about the relative dangers between the "Big Four" of the 60's.
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Comment #3 posted by runruff on January 20, 2006 at 10:12:32 PT:
Murkie is a back door man.
All bad press about cannabis has been quilt by association if not out right lies. All legislation against cannabis has been ushered in through the back door. All legislation in the advancement of cannabis has been though the front door if full daylight standing on it's on two legs. Is it just me or does this say something?
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on January 20, 2006 at 07:25:16 PT
Off Topic
This is an article about drug use in seniors. I can't imagine doing hard drugs. For me it would probably kill me. Even powerful prescription drugs are dangerous in my opinion.http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1149389,00.html
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on January 20, 2006 at 07:12:22 PT
Alaska
Maybe they think that we don't care about what goes on so far away in Alaska but we do care. Our eyes are watching and our hearts are angry. Don't turn back the clock. 
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