cannabisnews.com: Senate Passes Marijuana, Methamphetamine Bill Senate Passes Marijuana, Methamphetamine Bill Posted by CN Staff on January 19, 2006 at 17:23:24 PT By The Associated Press Source: Associated Press Juneau, Alaska -- The Alaska Senate today passed a bill to toughen penalties for marijuana possession and to make it more difficult to purchase the ingredients used to manufacture methamphetamine. The bill, which the Senate Finance Committee created from two separate bills, passed 17-to-1. It would make possession of more than 4 ounces of marijuana a felony. Possession of less than 4 ounces, now allowed in the home thanks to a 1975 court ruling, would become a misdemeanor. Current law makes it a misdemeanor to possess up to a half-pound of marijuana. The bill also would put Sudafed and other legal drugs used to make methamphetamine behind drug store counters. Before passing the bill, the Senate added a provision to allow the commissioner of the Department of Safety to regulate additional products if he finds they are used to make methamphetamine products. The measure now goes to the House for a concurrence vote. Source: Associated Press (Wire)Published: January 19, 2006Copyright: 2006 The Associated Press Related Articles:Changes Approved To Marijuana-Meth Bill http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21494.shtmlOmnibus Drug Bill Headed for The Senate Floor http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21479.shtmlLawmakers Try To Toughen Alaska's MJ Laws http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21471.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #11 posted by Sam Adams on January 20, 2006 at 07:00:34 PT illegal Won't this just fail again in a court trial? So I guess the political class is just doing this to charge the reform movement a bunch of legal fees. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by OverwhelmSam on January 20, 2006 at 04:33:04 PT They Want To Play Dirty? Time to hire private investigators to see what kind of dirt they can find on the Alaskan governor and get him busted. Turn about is fair play. [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by FoM on January 19, 2006 at 21:47:09 PT afterburner Oh yes I noticed. [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by afterburner on January 19, 2006 at 21:06:05 PT Notice how... The antis take their sweet time when it comes to decriminalizing cannabis, but rush it through whenever they get a mind to recriminalize or to increase penalties. Their efforts are purely political, not scientific or medical. They have ignored commission reports for years. Voters, throw the bums out! [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by runderwo on January 19, 2006 at 20:54:49 PT dirty pool They knew exactly what they were doing when they merged those bills. It had nothing to do with expedience and everything to do with making the cannabis changes into a rider. Especially given that they refused to hear expert witnesses on the cannabis bill even when it was separate. I hope the House exercises some wisdom when considering this bill. It stinks to high heaven. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by cloud7 on January 19, 2006 at 19:00:51 PT ... "Possession of less than 4 ounces...would become a misdemeanor"This needs to be challenged in court quickly if the House passes this bill."the bill also would put Sudafed and other legal drugs used to make methamphetamine behind drug store counters."It also limits the amount you can buy. A big screw you to all the people in rural areas who might stock up on on an effective medicine during winters and to any citizen of the state who thought they could buy as much of a legal product as they need. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by FoM on January 19, 2006 at 18:46:03 PT PainWithNoInsurance I call it guilt by association. By now everyone here must know how I feel about Meth and everyone knows how I feel about Cannabis. They are so different it infuriates me that they even share the same subject line in the article. Here's a link that shows how it has been working for years. Maybe it isn't in the state constitution because I'm really not sure but here is an important part of the url.Since 1973, 12 state legislatures -- Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Oregon -- have enacted versions of marijuana decriminalization. In each of these states, marijuana users no longer face jail time (nor in most cases, arrest or criminal records) for the possession or use of small amounts of marijuana. Internationally, many states and nations have enacted similar policies.http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=3383 [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by PainWithNoInsurance on January 19, 2006 at 18:38:38 PT FoM This bill angers me too because of the merger of different issues. They have to cheat to get their way. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by FoM on January 19, 2006 at 18:22:58 PT PainWithNoInsurance This has me angry and articles don't usually make me angry but going back in time and undoing what was working fine in Alaska upsets me. If this goes thru every state that has the law in their state constitution could be next and that is my state, Oregon, and Colorado and maybe one or two more I think. They can't dismantle years of progress or at least they shouldn't be allowed. I feel like we are going back so far that soon we will be living like the 50s did. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by PainWithNoInsurance on January 19, 2006 at 18:14:14 PT Cheat to get this bill passed Combining two differant issues to one bill should not be allowed. Injesting cannabis in people's own homes must really be a concern to the governor and his idea of a real crime. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on January 19, 2006 at 17:32:29 PT Fast They sure aren't wasting any time. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment