Anchorage newspaper misguided on drug bill

May 7, 2006

SPECTRUM/David Marquez

At first glance, there may seem to be no linkage between jobs for Alaskans, securing a gas pipeline deal and House Bill 149, the legislation to enable police to stop the commercial production of methamphetamine and marijuana.

That disconnect was reflected in a May 1 Anchorage Daily News editorial (&#8220Dopey dealing; Marijuana fight diverts attention from more urgent Alaska issues”), complaining that the Murkowski administration should deal with marijuana later and solely focus on meth and getting a gas pipeline.

Look again. We are doing the gas pipeline deal correctly and securing a strong economic future for our state and good jobs for future generations of young Alaskans.

However, most personnel directors will tell you they have a one-word response when they learn that a young applicant has a drug history: &#8220Goodbye.”

If we pass the drug legislation set forth in HB 149, we are acting to protect kids today so that tomorrow they can qualify for these jobs.

The ADN editorial, like the latest round of radio ads from the pro-marijuana groups, side-steps the obvious problems with marijuana by labeling the legislation an attack on privacy.

This is nonsense.

The marijuana provisions in HB 149 primarily target commercial growers. (In fact, the bill lowers the possible penalty for first-time recreational users.) So make no mistake: marijuana is big business in Alaska.

In the last couple of weeks alone, federal and state prosecutors clamped down on a drug ring that trafficked $10 million of marijuana in Alaska over the last five years. A Bethel man was arrested with 42 pounds, worth $200,000-$300,000 if sold in 1-pound quantities. Sold by the cigarette - which is how most kids buy marijuana - it can bring 10 times more profit.

The ACLU's own pro-marijuana experts testified in the Legislature that today's marijuana is stronger than in 1975 when the Alaska Supreme Court said that the state privacy provision protected the drug. Marijuana is now so potent that ACLU experts testified that they advise users to take only one puff and then wait several minutes before taking another. One puff is often enough to get high and more than that can result in &#8220anxiety episodes.” (Testimony of Harvard professor Dr. Lester Grinspoon, Senate Judiciary Committee, April 12, 2005.)

But too often, such medical advice is lost on kids. In Alaska, the undisputed evidence presented in the hearings confirmed that the average first-use of marijuana occurs at age 13 and a sizeable percentage of young Alaskans try marijuana before age 11. Back in 1975, the average age of first use was over 20.

To make matters worse, a recent decision of the Alaska Court of Appeals has made it much more difficult for the police to get search warrants to investigate commercial marijuana growing. The court ruling directly triggered some negative consequences.

In testimony before the Legislature, Alaska State Troopers representatives reported that since the court decision was rendered, much less commercial marijuana has been seized and more marijuana is now on the market in Alaska. Troopers are seeing more and more marijuana being shipped to rural villages (where the profit margin is higher) and use by young people is becoming rampant.

The issue is not privacy. The concern and alarm is about kids having easy access to potent commercially grown marijuana.

This is an illegal industry that targets young Alaskans and right now the police can't do much about it. House Bill 149 sets that right.

The Daily News opinion piece got it wrong.

David Marquez is Gov. Murkowski's attorney general.