Pot initiative elicits passion at Menard Center

WASILLA — While not as acrimonious as the Anchorage hearing that preceded it, a Thursday Valley Initiative Hearing grew heated at times.

It was the sixth in a series of hearings on the subject of marijuana commercialization.

The root issue that drew public commentary: Ballot Measure No. 2, which would allow people 21 years and older to “make, possess, buy, distribute, sell, show, store, transport, deliver, transfer, receive, harvest, process, or package marijuana and marijuana products, subject to certain restrictions” by passing regulatory changes which would allow a commercial marijuana industry in the state.

Debate on Proposition 2 largely turns on the matter of principals over concrete facts, since research from the only two states where marijuana is currently legal — Washington and Colorado — is largely too premature to be conclusive, according to widespread reporting on the matter.

The “No on 2” movement has drawn together an alliance of local public interest groups, most recently the Mat-Su Business Alliance, that defeated the Proposition 1 ballot measure in August. Erick Cordero, who spoke for the “Big Marijuana, Big Mistake” or no-vote campaign, said baby-boomer nostalgia might filter people’s perceptions of marijuana use.

“Why is there such concern?” he said. “Marijuana for many people, is just the notion of the Woodstock marijuana … people listening to the Grateful Dead or Jimi Hendrix, and that’s about it, but the marijuana of 2014 is not the same anymore. The levels of THC back then were probably 1 percent. That has been changed over the years. The levels of THC in products today can go from 40 percent all the way up to 80 percent.”

While it is true that a report to Congress in the 1990s found marijuana potency rates had tripled since 1978, according to howstuffworks.com, the methodology for measuring marijuana potency has evolved in subsequent decades, which makes a direct percentage comparison difficult. That comparison also doesn’t factor edible marijuana products or concentrates into the equation. Both have been at the center of high-profile anecdotes involving marijuana, like those proposed by New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd, who wrote about an overdose experience.

Proponents of the yes vote, whose most high-profile advocate, ex-KTVA reporter and Cannabis Club Owner Charlene Egbe — known widely as Charlo Greene — attended Thursday’s meeting, largely base their arguments on personal responsibility. Alaskans are responsible enough to decide for themselves whether or not they can consume marijuana, yes voters say, and the government should not intervene in that decision.

Besides, said “Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol” spokesman Bill Stolte, Alaskans are already using marijuana, and the bill would essentially allow stricter regulation. About 115,000 Alaskans use marijuana, Stolte said, a figure in keeping with research conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which identifies Alaska as the state with the highest percentage of marijuana use in the union. That industry is potentially worth as much as $80 million, Stolte said.

The act would be positive “by allowing a legitimate marijuana industry with sensible restrictions,” he said. “Those 115,000 users, they are unlikely to change their behavior whether Prop 2 passes or not. If they consume responsibly now, they’ll consume responsibly in the future.”

Egbe used her time at the podium to sharply question Cordero and Ward Hulburt, the State Department of Health and Social Services Chief Medical Officer who joined the conference by phone.

“Dr. Hurlburt, are you conspiring with the no on 2 campaign at all?” she asked at one point.

Hurlburt’s reports — Treadwell said they were intended to be objective medical advice — have made yes-vote supporters feel uncomfortable, Egbe said.

“It really feels like the deck is stacked against the yes person,” she said. “My next question is does anyone else here feel the same?”

Part of the audience applauded.

Egbe, who notoriously quit her television reporter job on-air, allegedly to focus on the “Yes on 2” fight, said she felt the tone of the debate, particularly the sometimes garrulous nature of the yes-vote campaign, is equal to the issues involved.

The tone wasn’t cause for concern, Egbe said.

“Why would I be concerned about Alaskans finally being concerned about an unjust law?” she said.

The passion on the yes-vote side is fueled by long-standing federal prohibition, which has prevented marijuana enthusiasts from getting a fair shake, Egbe said.

“Is it a fair time, though?” she said. “80 years of marijuana prohibition. People should be angry. People should be shouting.”

Asked whether the tone might prevent thoughtful consideration of the issue, Egbe said no.

“I think we are having thoughtful discourse on this issue,” she said. “I think people are calling (expletive) on what the other team is saying. That is thoughtful. They need to be screaming that from the audience every time they hear somebody lying.”

Egbe’s more direct approach clashed sharply with a plea for civility offered by Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell, who moderates initiative hearings in the state.

“There are people here who believe that marijuana has no bad health effects whatsoever,” he said. “There are also people here who believe that marijuana does have some bad health effects. You will hear responsible people from both sides advocate what they believe they know.”

“This is not really a place for public outbursts, it’s not really a place for cussin’,” Treadwell added, before a meeting which at one point included both outbursts and “cussin’.” “We’re all responsible citizens here and we all have a very important decision to make in November.”

Local residents, like Big Lake resident Mark Fish, who also signed up to support the yes vote, want the proposition as a starting point for a reasoned discussion about marijuana and it’s effects. They worry existing regulations — set since the 1976 Alaskan Supreme Court Decision, Ravin v. State — leave too much power in the hands of government officials.

“What happens when our law enforcement decides to enforce the letter of the law?” he said. “Do we want that arbitrary power in the hands of the attorney general? I’m voting for it because I see it as a starting point where we can make those changes.”

For Wasilla city council member Gretchen O’Barr, the risks outweigh the benefits.

“We all know someone who’s ruined their mind on weed,” she said.

This remark drew protests from yes voters in the back.

Contact Brian O’Connor at 352-2269 or brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com.