Remember back in September there was that Alaskan newscaster who quit her job to dedicate her time to making weed legal in her state? Well her dreams have come true because marijuana is now legal in the state of Alaska.
In November, voters in Alaska approved a ballot initiative that fully legalized weed with a 52 percent majority. The new law went into effect on Tuesday and it permits adults 21 and older to possess up to one ounce of pot, maintain six marijuana plants, and gift and transport the drug. Smoking in public remains prohibited. The Northern Lights means entirely something new now.
Regulations and taxes for the sale of the drug are still being figured out and must be finalized by November 24. The state must begin accepting and processing applications for weed businesses by February 24, 2016. Sales are expected to begin sometime after that.
Alaska becomes the third state to legalize it after Colorado and Washington. Oregon and Washington D.C. will also join them later this year. This is a significant moment in the cause since Alaska is the first red state to allow the legalization of weed. Alaska’s state flower is about to change from Myosotis alpestris to Cannabis.
In Anchorage, Alaska’s largest city, Police Chief Mark Mew said his officers will be strictly enforcing the public smoking ban. Possession is no longer a crime under the new state law, however smoking pot in public is punishable with a $100 fine.
Meanwhile, infamous television anchor Charlo Greene, who quit her job to be CEO of the Alaska Cannabis Club, is having its grand opening on Tuesday in downtown Anchorage. She promises to give away pot to paying “medical marijuana” patients and other “club members.” And plans a celebratory toke at… 4:20 p.m. Of course.
This legalization ends 40 years of confusing and condescending Alaskan marijuana laws. In 1975 the Alaska Supreme Court ruled to protect personal marijuana possession. Then state lawmakers twice contradictory criminalized any possession over the years.
In 1998, the state legalized medicinal marijuana. However the law prohibited marijuana illegal outside of people’s homes. There are no medical marijuana dispensaries in the state, which meant patients who were legitimately prescribed the drug by their doctors had no place to buy the marijuana.
This could start a domino effect of legalization of the sticky icky. Vermont and Maryland have introduced bills that would legalize weed.
Yesterday we brought you the uplifting information on how the U.S. government may legalize marijuana across this great country.
Science is educating the world and lawmakers on the low risks of marijuana and how it’s actually much, much safer than alcohol.
Alaska’s state nickname is “The Last Frontier,” but it appears that the rest of the country is the last frontier in regards to weed.
[NBC]