Legislators on Wednesday heard public testimony about the newest version of a bill that deals with the criminal aspects of marijuana law in Alaska.
Introduced Monday in the Senate Finance Committee, the new version of SB 30 reinstates marijuana as a controlled substance. Among other changes to the bill, some crimes could be prosecuted as felonies, and an open container is broadly defined.
The bill had passed from the Senate Judiciary Committee, which drafted a bill that removed marijuana from the list of controlled substances.
Judiciary committee member Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage, expressed frustration Wednesday regarding the bill’s changes in the finance committee.
....
Wielechowski called placing marijuana back on the controlled substances list a “slippery slope of philosophy," saying that if marijuana is viewed as a controlled substance, and thus a dangerous substance, then legislation is crafted with a different mindset. That’s why felonies have shown up in the bill, Wielechowski said.
“People can say it’s just a philosophical debate … but you’re seeing real policy ramifications,” Wielechowski said.
I can tell you right now that the public response to this is going to be deafening.
Voters were quite clear that they wanted the recreational use of pot to be legal, and that it should be sold just like alcohol is currently being sold.
This reversal could cause some serious political problems for the lawmakers who get blamed for it.
Trust me.
