Wasilla to revisit edibles ban

WASILLA — Law-abiding marijuana brownie fans should think twice before suing over their right to have the intoxicating treats — ahem — baked.

The two dissenting voters on the Wasilla City Council’s marijuana restrictions are set to propose changes to recently enacted marijuana laws that could restore marijuana edibles legal status.

Council members previously discussed some of the proposed changes during the passage of the ordinance in February.

They are:

• Change the language concerning edibles to focus on edibles, extracts, or concentrates made for commercial use or sale. Edible for personal use would no longer be prohibited.

• Establish an exception to the manufacturing ban for primary or alternate caregivers providing products to people possessing a medical marijuana card

• Ban manufacture using a volatile or explosive gas

• Change the transportation maximum amount from 2 ounces per vehicle, to 2 ounces per person.

• Establish Nov. 24, 2015, as the sunset clause for all provisions

The ordinance will be considered Wednesday, and a public hearing on the proposed changes will be scheduled at the regular city council meeting March 23.

Councilman Brandon Wall, one of two co-sponsors for the changes, said revisions were designed to eliminate sections that could potentially be challenged in court.

In discussions about the bills at the Feb. 23 meeting, a personal possession limit of 2 ounces was removed because of concerns it would violate established law regarding the 1976 Ravin v. Alaska decision, most of which lays out a possession limit of 4 ounces and 24 plants as the maximum limit for the home.

By comparison, Ballot Measure 2 says 2 ounces and six plants is the maximum allowed for individual possession, which would make the 2 ounces per car limit vulnerable to legal challenge, Wall said.

“That’s the discussion we didn’t have about the manufacture and transportation limitations,” he said. “Do we feel strongly enough about it to put city tax dollars at risk? I personally don’t. I don’t think the majority of the council does.”

The Alaska Constitution guarantees laws passed by citizen initiative must go two years without being amended by either the state or Legislature, Wall pointed out.

“That’s where we got wrapped around the axle a little bit on what’s dry, what’s useable, what’s not useable, and so forth,” he said.

Wall said he doesn’t oppose legislation to serve for the interim period between legalization and when a feasible state legal framework is in place, but the legislation must be reasonable.

“It’s really kind of a Wild West right now, and there isn’t a good understanding of what is legal and not legal in certain areas,” he said.

On top of bringing specific provisions into line with the ballot initiative and Ravin-related case law, the sunset clause is designed show marijuana ordinances are intended to be of limited duration, in order to prevent lawsuits over provisions which may be amended in the future, Wall said.

“In a perfect world, all three sections would prevail,” he said.

While simply obeying Ballot Measure 2 and Ravin could probably protect the city against most obvious lawsuits, a ban on manufacturing itself may be subject to legal challenge at some point, Wall said.

“It’s not clear whether we can ban commercial manufacture,” he said.

Councilwoman Colleen Sullivan-Leonard, who joined Wall in proposing the amendments, said she had concerns about the practical enforcement of some of the recently adopted provisions.

For example, at one point during discussion Feb. 23, councilman Stu Graham said he didn’t believe Wasilla police officers would be going house-to-house seizing brownies as a result of the ordinances.

That begged at least two questions, Sullivan-Leonard said.

“If it’s not actively going to be enforced, why have it as a law?” she said. “The other question is: how much can we legislate morality? It’s one of those questions that is very difficult to ascertain.”

Even if the ordinance is approved March 23, it is unlikely to be the final word on Wasilla ordinances about marijuana use, Sullivan-Leonard said.

“We’ll continue to work through the process, and I hope common sense will prevail,” she said.

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