cannabisnews.com: Hemp At The Root of Radio Ad Battle Hemp At The Root of Radio Ad Battle Posted by FoM on October 27, 2000 at 06:17:23 PT By Tim Pryor, Daily News Reporter Source: Anchorage Daily News Marijuana has become an issue in the legislative race in House District 18. Both candidates say they oppose an initiative to legalize it, but state Rep. Con Bunde says in an ad that Anchorage Assemblywoman Pat Abney hasn't taken a position against it. Bunde, a Republican, ran a radio ad Wednesday saying as much. Abney, a nonpartisan, came back with two radio commercials Thursday accusing Bunde of misrepresenting her position. All the fuss is about Proposition 5, a state initiative that says people 18 or older shouldn't be prosecuted for possessing, cultivating, distributing or using marijuana. Bunde pounced when he saw a recent television news story that said Abney hadn't taken a position on the issue. "Pat Abney may not have made up her mind on the hemp initiative, . . . but I have, and it's a bad idea," Bunde says in his ad. He also says, "With Alaska's youth already facing deadly challenges from alcohol and inhalant abuse, the last thing we should do is encourage them to experiment with yet another drug." Abney, who had bought time on about 10 radio stations for another ad, substituted it with a quick two-ad counterattack on Thursday. In the first, she says she was interviewed for the television news story a month ago but had since formed an opinion. "I had not had the opportunity to study the initiative and its ramifications," she says in the ad. "And anyone who knows me knows that I study an issue before I take a position on it." Her second commercial criticizes Bunde for suggesting her undecided position somehow encourages drug use. "This is unacceptable," a male voice says. "Just because one month ago Pat was undecided on this issue, what? This means she's encouraging drug use? This is quite categorically over the line." Bunde isn't budging. "In my opinion, you need to do all you can to oppose further drug experimentation," he said. He hasn't decided whether to stop running his commercial. "I'll listen to her ads and her explanation," Bunde said. "Maybe the lady doth protest too much." Abney wasn't the only person critical of information in Bunde's ad. When a portion of the ad was read to him, Free Hemp in Alaska chairman Al Anders said it doesn't fairly represent the measure. Bunde says in the ad that the initiative would free convicted drug dealers and pay them for their time in jail. The initiative doesn't propose to pay people for their time in jail on pot charges, Anders said. It calls for an advisory panel, appointed by elected officials, to study whether to compensate people for pot-related punishments. Even then, the Legislature and the governor would have to agree to pay the restitution, he said. "All those people are opposed to restitution," Anders said. "I don't know what they're crying about." Reporter Tim Pryor can be reached at: tpryor adn.com Phone: 257-4310Source: Anchorage Daily News (AK)Author: Tim Pryor, Daily News ReporterPublished: October 27, 2000Copyright: 2000 The Anchorage Daily News Contact: letters adn.com Website: http://www.adn.com/ Related Articles & Web Sites:Free Hemp in AlaskaAl Anders, Chair2603 Spenard RoadAnchorage, Alaska 99503 (907) 278-HEMP E-mail: freehempinak gci.netVisit their web site: http://www.freehempinak.orgHemp 2000R.L. Marcy, ChairP.O. Box 90055Anchorage, AK 99509907-376-2232 (p)Fax: 907-376-0530 (f)E-mail: marcy hemp2000.orgVisit their web site: http://www.hemp2000.org Pot Helps With Epilepsy http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7459.shtmlHemp Backers Can't Move Mayorhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7455.shtmlHigh Hopes in Alaska for Sweeping Pot Law http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7173.shtmlCannabisNews Articles - Alaska:http://cannabisnews.com/thcgi/search.pl?K=alaska END SNIP --> Snipped Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: