The Alaska House of Representatives has unanimously passed a non-binding resolution urging the federal government against interfering in the state’s voter-approved commercial marijuana industry.
Lawmakers in the Democratic-controlled state House voted 38-0 on Monday in support of the measure, House Joint Resolution 21, advancing it to the Republican-led state Senate for further consideration.
Introduced by Rep. David Guttenberg, Fairbanks Democrat, the resolution “urges the federal government to respect the authority of the State of Alaska to regulate marijuana use, production and distribution and forbear any federal interference in marijuana policy of states where marijuana has been legalized, in keeping with the federal enforcement priorities enumerated in the United States Department of Justice’s August 29, 2013, memorandum.”
The bill also “urges the federal government to reconsider its listing of marijuana as a federal Schedule 1 controlled substance,” according to the version passed Monday.
Drafted by James Cole, a deputy attorney general during the Obama administration, the memo referenced in Mr. Guttenberg’s bill advised Justice Department prosecutors against pursuing marijuana-related cases in states where the plant has been legalized for recreational or medicinal use.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded the so-called “Cole Memo” in January, however, raising concerns within the dozens of states with laws in place legalizing marijuana, Alaska included.
“Marijuana has essentially been legal in Alaska for decades, but in 2014 the people of Alaska voted to make it fully legal by allowing it to be grown and sold recreationally,” Mr. Guttenberg said in a statement Monday. “We now have thriving businesses that are contributing to the local and state tax base despite the daily fear that the federal government will overstep their authority by trying to shut them down.”
The Justice Department said it would continue to enforce federal marijuana laws.
“The cultivation, distribution and possession of marijuana has been generally prohibited since 1970 when the Controlled Substances Act was passed,” a department official told The Times on Tuesday. “The attorney general is committed to reducing violent crime, stemming the tide of the drug crisis and dismantling criminal gangs. The Justice Department will utilize every legal tool provided by Congress to fulfill these commitments, including the Controlled Substances Act.”
Alaska is one of nine states with laws in place permitting recreational marijuana use, and one of six where the plant is taxed and sold through state-licensed retail dispensaries.
Alaska brought in $4.7 million in tax revenue during the first year of retail sales, The Juneau Empire previously reported, and in January the state set a record by collecting more than $1 million in marijuana-related taxes within a single month, according to the newspaper.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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