On Feb. 24, limited personal possession and small private marijuana grows become unequivocally legal in Alaska for people over the age of 21.
To some people, that date means an end to an injustice that has exacerbated other inequities in America, and an end to unique contradictions inherent to Alaska laws regarding marijuana. To others, it represents a capitulation in the war against intoxication and a shift that brings Alaska closer to vice and indolence. Many others are somewhere between. No matter our perspectives on the personal use of marijuana, it is unavoidable that Alaska is now front-and-center in a nationwide trend and that history is unfolding before our eyes.
Alaska and marijuana have already had history together, and it means our state will take a different path after legalization than other states have. In 1974, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled that Alaskans' constitutional right to privacy protected their freedom to possess and grow cannabis in the home. Marijuana and privacy have been intertwined ever since.
But the last election turned cannabis into an an undoubtedly public matter. That change in perspective entails an adjustment of society as well as policy, but no one can know what form it will take. And it could be that nothing much changes for the majority of Alaskans.
For many reasons, an end to marijuana prohibition in Alaska will also mean a period of confusion and misunderstandings. It may also mean coming to terms with not being able to answer some difficult questions just yet. Cannabis is everywhere in Alaska, and so are the laws right now, to say nothing of social mores. Policies are incomplete, and the Legislature is holding hearings on the matter almost daily. Boroughs and municipalities have begun convening panels and considering ordinances.
This regular column, “Highly Informed,” will attempt to answer questions Alaskans are sure to have during this time of uncertainty. We'll tackle everything from law, science and policy to etiquette, culture and equipment, and more, and we'll try to have fun along the way. No matter anyone's individual familiarity with cannabis, we're all cheechakos on Alaska's new frontier. And the odds are good that if one person wonders something, others wonder it too.
We'll start out asking a few basic questions ourselves, but we hope that readers will chime in and help drive this column too. Please send questions relating to any aspect of cannabis in the Great Land to cannabis-north@alaskadispatch.com, with the words “Highly Informed” leading the subject line.
Contact at swoodham@alaskadispatch.com or on Google+
