Ron Walden’s 2012 novel “Blue Sky & Green Grass: Murder, Money Laundering & Winter Farming in Alaska”
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This episode is Ron Walden’s novel from 2012… “Blue Sky and Green Grass: Murder, Money Laundering and Winter Farming in Alaska”
How could Alaska, the new State that allowed
personal use of marijuana early in its growth, ever be a crossroads of pot
smuggling for profit?
·
Alaska residents can use or possess legal
amounts of medical and recreational marijuana.
·
Alaska residents must be at last 21 years
of age to buy cannabis without a prescription. Medical cannabis is available to
all registered patients; but, minors having qualifying conditions can buy
prescribed weed with the help of their caregivers.
·
Alaska residents can only buy up to one
ounce of weed for both recreational and medical use.
·
Alaska residents can grow up to six
cannabis plants on their private properties.
·
Penalties for violating Alaska marijuana
laws range from misdemeanor to felony depending on the severity of the crime.
See
show notes at www.wisdomofthedonutholeblog.blogspot.com for referenced
details, articles and links.
The US Coast Guard’s aviationhistory.org carried
an article describing how and why the Coast Guard became the lead agency for maritime
drug interdiction in 1976, as the marijuana war began.
Imagine the incentive to engage in large scale
maritime marijuana smuggling where enormous profits could be realized. Good
grade Colombian marijuana was purchased at the supply end for $35 a pound in
1976.
The cost of a pound of
marijuana at wholesale in the Southeast United States averaged about $450 a
pound. The average ship carried between 10-15 tons of marijuana. A shipment of
24,000 pounds would generate a gross profit of almost 10 million dollars.
The ship had a Captain,
Engineer and depending on its size, eight to ten crew representing a cost of
$350,000 for manning and operating expenses. Aircraft surveillance would run
about $275,000. A chase boat and off-load boats would add another $250,000.
Handlers and off-load storage another $200,000. A payment of 1 million went to
a middleman. The principals still made $7.8 million on each successful
two–to-three-week round trip.
Of course Colombia to
Florida and east coast points of delivery were close and easy to get to, but
profits remained significant.
Now imagine tapping into
the underserved market of Alaskans. Provide a high THC product and create a
uniquely inexpensive delivery system and you have a Canadian connection that
provided Alaska bales of high-quality pot using Alaska as a stop on a worldwide
delivery system and you have at least some version of BC BUD, the
Canadian trafficking cartel.
An Anchorage Daily News article in 2009 described a man, a small player in the process, being sentenced for supporting a marijuana smuggling operation in Alaska.
Show notes at www.wisdomofthedonutholeblog.blogspot.com have details and
links.
In 2009, a man we will call Mr. H with ties to a multi-million-dollar marijuana smuggling operation was sentenced in federal court to 10 months for conspiracy to commit money laundering. He was ordered to serve five months in prison and five in home confinement, and to pay a $6,000 fine.
In March 2005, a leader of a major drug operation called "BC Bud"
smuggling marijuana from Canada to Alaska, had a middleman buy a motor home and
an enclosed trailer. After he bought the vehicles, the Canadian ringleader gave
the middleman $93,000 in cash as a down payment, planning to pay the rest in
$5,000 increments. In total, this middleman, now serving a 30-year sentence for
his role in the drug operation, gave Mr. H about $150,000 in cash for his role
in BC BUD. The Chief U.S. District Court Judge told Mr. H when imposing the
sentence: "When people are engaged in serious criminal activity, don't
help them out," Mr. H also forfeited his interest in the motor home and
trailer.
The Sinaloa Cartel, once headed by notorious kingpin “El Chapo,” and others in Mexico continue to target Alaska with drug pipelines, adding to the overdose death toll, according to a new investigative report from the Louisville Courier Journal.
It’s difficult to reach much of the state, so there are fewer criminal networks competing for customers in Alaska, which means drug traffickers can triple or even quadruple their price and net larger profits. The head of federal criminal prosecutions for Alaska’s U.S. Attorney’s Office said, “All drug dealers are aware they can make more money selling drugs in Alaska.”
Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan issued a reaction to the newspaper report... Dozens were indicted in a drug ring targeting Alaska communities. More than 50 people were charged in nine criminal indictments over seven months.
Defendants conspired to bring fentanyl,
cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine from Mexico into the state. Court records
show some indicted members of the drug ring were inmates at Alaska correctional
facilities. The drug ring was headed by a 57-year-old California
inmate using phones smuggled into prison to communicate with suppliers in
Mexico, Oregon and California who shipped drugs to Alaska. He was also accused
of recruiting inmates set for release from Alaska’s Hiland Mountain
correctional facility to participate in the drug ring.
A trapper
flying out to his trap-line one freezing cold morning discovered an airplane,
nose-down, in the trees. He lands on the frozen lake to find the pilot dead,
frozen in his seat. Four duffels piled behind the pilot contained marijuana, a
briefcase filled with cash and a Colt .45 pistol. Ultimately deciding to keep
the money, surmising it wouldn’t be missed, his greed draws a Cartel’s henchmen
to retrieve it.
Alaska State Trooper helicopter pilot Sgt. Karen
Holmes and fellow Trooper Craig Stanton investigate amid daring rescues and
routine duties. Be with them as they unravel this frustrating, complicated,
dangerous case spanning Alaska’s metro and wilderness areas.
The Trapper:
At age 62, hair turning gray and joints beginning to get stiff, Ken appreciated the ease of using the Super Cub to check his trap-line. As the crow flies, it was only about 20 miles to where he’d check his first string of traps. He’d take a little extra time to look for any wolves in the area before landing near his first set. Near the lake, he caught sight of something in the trees about 150 yards from shore. He circled around the site.
It was an airplane in the
trees standing on its propeller cone. With the wind calm, he landed straight ahead
then taxied to the shoreline.
Not wanting to rapidly
lose engine heat he pulled the engine cover from the rear seat and covered the
engine cowling, slipped into his snowshoes, zipped up his parka and made his
way through the thick spruce thicket to the crash site.
Through the windshield he
could see the pilot in his seat. Using a piece of dead spruce as a ladder he
climbed high enough to reach the door handle and opened it. He checked for a pulse.
There was none. The pilot was dead. Frozen in his seat. Ken had no way of
knowing when the crash had happened, but he’d been on this lake four days earlier.
The plane wasn’t there then.
Pausing to think, he
spotted a shiny metal briefcase against the windshield and a bloody wound on
the back of the pilots head. Maybe the metal case had struck him from behind
during the impact? He pulled the case from its perch, tossed it to the ground
and slid carefully down to the ground. He slipped into the harness of his
snowshoes and tugged the rubber bands around his heels, then retrieved the
briefcase.
He trudged back to the lake to his own airplane where he pulled the cell phone from his pocket. No signal. “Figures,” he thought. Kicking off his snowshoes, he tossed them into the rear of the Cub. He placed the briefcase in the pilot’s seat. Finally, he pulled the engine cover from the nose, stuffing it into the backseat of the little plane.
As he was about to climb
into his seat, he saw the metal case. He thumbed the latches and it opened.
Ken was surprised by what
he found inside: CASH—lots of cash. Thousands in cash. And a Colt Series 80 .45
caliber pistol. Stunned, he closed the lid and put the case in the back with
his snowshoes and engine cover. He
started the engine, turned the little craft around and took off across the
lake.
At 1,500 feet he keyed
the microphone. “Anchorage Center, Piper 1362 Delta.”
“Piper 62 Delta,
Anchorage Center. Are you reporting inbound?”
“No, sir. I am reporting
an aircraft accident.”
“62 Delta, what is the
nature of your emergency?”
“I found a downed
aircraft”. He read the GPS coordinates. “It is a Cessna 206, yellow over
white,” he included the aircraft tail number. “This is a fatality accident. The
body of the pilot is still in the aircraft.”
Anchorage Center notified
the Rescue Coordination Center and Alaska State Troopers. A minute later, the
voice was back. “62 Delta, are you still in the area of the crash?”
“Affirmative. I’ll land
on Lake Witsoe and wait for the troopers. I’ll be out of radio contact until
they’re close to the site.”
“Thank you, 62 Delta.
Troopers will contact you there.”
Landing on the lake, he
covered the engine again, then thought about the cash behind his seat and the
things he could do with that kind of cash. He opened the case and counted the cash. Banded
in $5,000 bundles, it totaled $104,000. The temptation was just too great. He
made the decision quickly, putting $1,500 into the briefcase with the Colt. The
rest he buried in his trap basket in the backseat.
He put on his snowshoes
and returned to the Cessna. Climbing the makeshift ladder again, he placed the
briefcase against the windshield where he’d found it. Wearing gloves all day,
fingerprints wouldn’t be a problem.
In the rear of the wreck
he found a duffle bag tied into each of the four seats. Climbing down again, he
hiked back to his own plane. Sitting inside waiting for officers to arrive, he
couldn’t help wonder about the cash and cargo.
Who was this guy? Why did
he crash? The front of the Cessna had surprisingly little damage. Ken’s guess
was the engine wasn’t running at the time of the crash. Maybe the pilot had
lost an engine and stalled into the trees, trying to make a safe landing on the
lake.
He had been inside his
own airplane for nearly an hour when he heard a helicopter approaching. Ken
climbed out of his Cub and waited for the Robertson R44 to land on the ice.
He turned his back to the
swirling snow flurry the helicopter rotor blades caused. As the rotors slowed
he could see the pilot was a female Trooper. She let the blades spin to a stop
then bounced energetically to the ground. She climbed up to place cold
protection on the engine. Climbing down again, she approached Ken.
Alaska State Trooper
Sergeant Karen Holmes was a muscular woman with sandy-blond hair and an athletic
spring to her step.
She’d attended Idaho
State University, majored in criminal justice and was active in the Marine ROTC
Program. Upon graduation she enlisted, completed Marine Corps boot camp and was
admitted to Helicopter Flight Training. Assigned to a flight group in Florida,
when she wasn’t flying, she worked in the office of the Provost Marshal.
She was deployed to Iraq
in an Apache gunship. She loved flying the Apache. It fed her appetite for
excitement. After her second tour she lost her craving for adrenalin.
Upon completion of her
enlistment, she returned to her home in southern Idaho, then to the University
of Washington for her master’s degree. A year later, degrees in hand, she was
recruited by the Alaska State Troopers. With her helicopter portfolio completed
and Trooper academy finished, she was ready to go to work. She did her
apprenticeship on road patrol and investigations when an opening for a
helicopter pilot was offered to her. Six years later, here she was
investigating a plane crash.
But this investigation
would expand beyond Alaska, beyond a plane crash and into a world of high
stakes violence, international foes and the unique, profitable world of winter
farming in Alaska.
Follow Alaska State
Trooper Pilot, Sergeant Karen Holmes and Trooper Craig Stanton as they learn
who to trust and who to fear when they track down murderers, money, cartels and
danger in the harsh seasons of Alaska’s cities and back country in:
Blue Sky and Green Grass: Murder, Money Laundering and Winter Farming In Alaska
https://shop.ingramspark.com/b/084?89HhdiPJATFfgljltF3bOzxcO4XU0LpqVLpvJQpdV4O
Season 2, Episode 4… Ron Walden’s 4th
book: “Blue Sky and Green Grass: Murder, Money Laundering and Winter Farming
in Alaska” Copyright 2012, 2nd Edition Copyright 2022.
===========================================================================
Ron
Walden, Alaska’s True to Life Crime Author weaves an exciting Alaska Story of Murder,
Money Laundering and Pot Growing.
All
of Ron Walden’s books are available wherever books are sold, including your
hometown bookstores and online.
Ask
for his books if you don’t see them on shelves. Buying locally is always best.
Show
notes at www.wisdomofthedonutholeblog.blogspot.com have links to the
places and key elements of this story.
Please check those out.
Go
to Ronwalden.com to see how easy it is to order your favorite Ron Walden books
directly.
We
return next time with Ron’s 5th novel which was published in 2013:
https://shop.ingramspark.com/b/084?KuDkAThAbVjhgkLr9uleAuJvXFsY1Nl613vjyNWlgac
“Poacher’s
Paradise”
An
Alaska Wildlife Trooper and a US Wildlife Officer patrol bear-baiting sites near
Mystery Creek on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula. Finding a moose poached and the poacher
dead, mauled by a bear, an investigation into a poaching family begins.
“Poachers
Paradise” reveals perils, adventures and dangers Alaska Wildlife Troopers face.
Also
included is the true account of Alaska Department of Fish and Wildlife Officer
Al “Bear Bait” Thompson, as told by his wife Joyce, who was with him through
the entire ordeal. She details the attack, mauling and dramatic 17-mile trek to
rescue. Al’s service after Statehood
made Alaska’s Fish and Wildlife Division what it is today. Ron Walden’s wife Betty
worked with Al for many years.
Listen,
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It’s very simple and they make great gifts. I’m your host, Scott Walden.
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Ron
Walden, Author Of Alaska True To Life Crime And Other Stories
Ugly
Moose Alaska Publishing, Soldotna, Alaska
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Sky Green Grass
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SHOW
NOTES
Ugly
Moose Alaska Wisdom of the Donut Hole Podcast Season 2, Episode 4 “Blue Sky,
Green Grass”
ALASKA:
The incentive to engage
in large scale maritime marijuana smuggling
https://cgaviationhistory.org/1976-the-marijuana-war-begins-the-coast-guard-becomes-the-lead-agency-for-maritime-drug-interdiction/
The incentive to engage in large scale maritime marijuana smuggling operations was generated by the enormous profits that could be realized. Good grade Colombian marijuana was purchased at the supply end for $35 a pound. The cost of a pound of marijuana at wholesale in the Southeast United States averaged out at $450 a pound. The average mother ship carried between 10- 15 tons of marijuana. A shipment of 24,000 pounds would generate a gross profit of almost 10 million dollars. The mother ship had a Captain, an Engineer and depending on the size eight to ten crewmembers representing a cost of $350,000 for manning and operating expenses. Aircraft surveillance would run about $275,000. A chase boat and off-load boats would add another $250,000. Handlers and off-load storage another $200,000. A payment of 1 million went to a middleman. The principals still made $7.88 million on each successful two–to-three-week round trip.
A man with ties to a multi-million-dollar marijuana smuggling operation
has been sentenced in federal court to 10 months confinement for a charge of
conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to the U.S. attorney. At his
sentencing Tuesday, Bret W. Hendren, 46, was ordered to serve five months in
prison and five in home confinement in addition to paying a $6,000 fine,
prosecutors said. Hendren pleaded guilty to the charge back in October. In
March 2005, Thomas Ranes, a leader of a major drug operation smuggling "BC
bud" marijuana from Canada to Alaska, asked Hendren to buy a Renegade
motor home and a Kibbi enclosed trailer. After Hendren bought the vehicles,
Ranes gave him $93,000 in cash as a down payment, planning to bring the rest in
$5,000 increments, prosecutors said. Once, the cash smelled like marijuana,
prosecutors said. In total, Ranes, who is now serving a 30-year sentence for
his role in the drug operation, gave Hendren about $150,000 in cash. “When
people are engaged in serious criminal activity, don't help them out,"
Chief U.S. District Court Judge John Sedwick told Hendren in imposing the
sentence. Hendren also forfeited his interest in the motor home and trailer.
Sinaloa
Cartel and Alaska
https://mustreadalaska.com/sullivan-blasts-biden-for-sinaloa-cartel-targeting-alaska-communities/
The Sinaloa Cartel, once headed by notorious kingpin “El Chapo,” and
others in Mexico are targeting Alaska communities with drug pipelines, adding
to the overdose death toll, according to a new investigative report from
the Journal. It’s difficult to reach much of the state, so there are fewer
criminal networks competing for customers in Alaska, which means drug
traffickers can triple or quadruple their price and net much larger profits,
the report says. “All the drug dealers are aware they can make more money
selling drugs in Alaska,” said James Klugman, head of federal criminal
prosecutions for Alaska’s U.S. Attorney’s Office. Fentanyl and other illegal
narcotics have saturated urban centers of Anchorage, as well as Juneau and
Fairbanks. “From those main hubs, shipments are dispersed far and wide,
stretching from tiny islands off the southern coast all the way up to the
Arctic region, according to state and federal police,” reporter Beth Warren has written, having spent weeks in Alaska working on the
story. Recently, the city of Haines reported two deaths from fentanyl
within a short time span, illustrating the problem small towns are now having
with illegal drugs coming in faster than law enforcement can manage.
Drug cartels have moved in as the state has also loosened regulations on marijuana. Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom signed regulations that allow the state’s legal marijuana businesses to advertise more widely and to distribute free samples of marijuana at their retail outlets, adding to the culture of drug consumption that pervades many communities.
Sen. Dan Sullivan issued a reaction to the newspaper report, and he puts the blame squarely on President Joe Biden. “I just read an article in the Courier Journal entitled Targeting the Last Frontier. Mexican Cartels Send Drugs into Alaska Upping Death Toll. This is, first of all, incredibly sad. Our fellow Alaskans dying because of Mexican cartels and fentanyl. And it’s infuriating. Infuriating. The FBI says the vast majority of the fentanyl coming in to Alaska is from Mexican cartels,” Sullivan said.
“We have a Mexican cartel invasion in Alaska and the rest of the country. Damn it. Mr. President, do your job. Secure the border. Damn it, Secretary Mayorkas. Secure the border. That’s your job. We are trying to make sure there’s not going to be a government shutdown. We have an amendment on the Senate floor that we’re working right now to help secure the border, to get the Biden administration of finally do their job,” Sullivan said on a video on Facebook.
“Mr. President, quit making sure the Democrats block it, Let them vote for it. This is what America needs. It’s going to help us keep our government open. But we need to secure the border. Alaskans and Americans are dying, and you’re responsible,” the senator said.
Dozens indicted in drug ring targeting Alaska communities. More than 50 people have been charged in connection with an international drug trafficking ring targeting Alaska communities, according to an announcement from federal authorities Thursday and nine criminal indictments over the past seven months.
The defendants conspired to bring fentanyl, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine from Mexico into the state between February 2022 and July 2023, U.S. Attorney for Alaska S. Lane Tucker said. Court records show some members of the drug ring were inmates at Alaska correctional facilities, including several indicted this week while held at Anchorage Correctional Complex and Hiland Mountain Correctional Center.
“The criminal enterprise allegedly sent drugs to Anchorage, Dillingham, Fairbanks, Goodnews Bay, Ketchikan, Kodiak, New Stuyahok, Palmer, Sand Point, Savoonga, Sitka, Togiak, Tyonek and Wasilla,” Tucker said at a press conference Thursday.
The drug ring was allegedly headed by 57-year-old Heraclio Sanchez-Rodriguez, a California inmate who’s accused of using phones smuggled into prison to communicate with suppliers in Mexico and people in Oregon and California who shipped the drugs to Alaska. A high-level associate of Sanchez Rodriguez, 38-year-old Christina Quintana, is alleged to have recruited inmates set for release from Hiland Mountain to participate in the drug ring while she was serving time there as well.
Sanchez-Rodriguez’s alleged accomplices sent drugs, mainly fentanyl, through the mail and distributed them within Alaska communities, Tucker said. Grand juries have been handing up indictments of alleged drug ring members since June of last year.
“The indictments also include charges against members of the organization in North Pole for the distribution of fentanyl, resulting in the overdose death of Adam Sakkinen,” Tucker said. “We have also charged over 25 defendants in this case with money laundering conspiracy to promote the drug trafficking organization.” The drug trafficking ring is also connected to the kidnapping and murders of 30-year old Sunday Powers and 34-year-old Kami Clark last May, according to one of the indictments.
Over the course of the investigation, officials say law enforcement officers intercepted hundreds of thousands of fentanyl pills, in addition to other narcotics. The volume of the drugs flowing into rural Alaska communities could’ve potentially led to many deaths, Tucker said.
“There were 44 lethal doses for every person in Togiak, I believe it was,” Tucker said. “So in some of these communities there were enough lethal doses to kill the community several times over.” All 53 people charged in the indictments had been taken into custody as of Thursday, according to court records.
Alaska
researchers map marijuana to its source
B.C. bud came across the border to Alaska hidden under wooden boards covering the frame of a long flatbed trailer, the kind you might use to haul around some heavy equipment. One big bust in April of 2006 by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration filled up about 10 large cardboard boxes with 308pounds of British Columbia pot. Subsequent arrests ended six years of smuggling for the drug ring, but not before they transported roughly 2,200 pounds of marijuana worth $10 million, law enforcement officials estimate.
It wasn't the absolute highest quality, say local pot smokers, but it was good. Good enough to compete with the high-quality Alaskan-grown pot and flood the market. Law enforcement officers have long suspected that Alaska is both an exporter and an importer of marijuana. Alaska's black market, once thought to be awash in its own excellent marijuana, seems to in fact be a crossroads for some of the best pot in the world.
When cops seize marijuana from drug smugglers, such as the ones using the flatbed trailer, they have a better chance of tracking down where it came from. When they seize it at the source, the grow room, they know exactly where it came from. But plastic baggies of marijuana buds sit hidden in the pockets, backpacks, automobiles, and homes of millions of Americans. And when this pot gets intercepted during traffic stops and other officer-to-person contacts, often its origin is unknown - even to the pot smoker.
What Alaska law enforcement hasn't had - until now - was a quantitative way of telling how much of the state's pot was grown here and how much was grown Outside. Nor could they pinpoint the geographic area in which a particular bag of pot was from. Now, researchers and police at the University of Alaska Fairbanks might have a way to find out exactly where in the world those buds grew.
Inside the lab at the Alaska Stable Isotope Facility in the Water and Environmental Research Center at UAF, bulky gray boxes with digital displays are connected to each other with venting ducts and bundles of wires that run up to the ceiling. A radio set to a classic rock station is playing somewhere. It's an attempt to mask the whirring, clicking and popping of the spectrometers and all the noise created by their peripheral devices. They also have the radio on "to keep the instruments happy," says Dr. Matthew Wooller, an associate professor at the university and one of the marijuana study's principal investigators.
The facility, which is part of the Institute of Northern Engineering at UAF, analyzes the stable isotopic signatures of thousands of samples, including water, glacier ice cores, animal fur, and bird feathers. And, most recently, they've been looking at marijuana.
This is how it works: Elements like oxygen and hydrogen have naturally occurring isotopes, which are simply variations in the number of neutrons in atoms of the same element. The more neutrons, the heavier the atom.
Because of the tilt in Earth's axis, the planet's weather patterns tend to originate in the tropics and spiral northward. As that happens, isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen (the building blocks of water) with a greater atomic mass tend to fall out of the atmosphere closer to the equator. A proportionately higher number of lighter isotopes stay in the atmosphere longer and make their way farther north.
"By the time precipitation has moved up here"
Wooller says, "itis proportionately rained out."
The result: "Up here in Alaska, we live in a pretty unique isotopic environment."
"Plants take that [isotopic] signature up," Wooller says. There are about a dozen office plants sitting behind him. "They take that water up."
His computer screen shows a global map of hundreds of sites where the isotopic signature of local water has been analyzed. “It’s that very subtle difference in mass that yields this type of map for water," Wooller says.
Wooller points out his office window to the Alaska Range. Mountains also cause heavier isotopes to fall out, he says. Because Interior Alaska sits in the rain shadow of both the Alaska Brooks ranges, the isotopic signature of Fairbanks water is even more unique. Stable isotope analysis has allowed wildlife biologists to track animal migrations and paleontologists to reconstruct ancient ecosystems or scrutinize dinosaur remains, among many other things. It’s proven to be especially effective at analyzing organic compounds in plants, even plants that are millions of years old, Wooller says.
It can even be used to track people. While his wife (now also a UAF professor) was living in Boston, Wooller frequently traveled between there and Fairbanks. He saved his fingernail clippings from these trips and sampled his own hair. The isotopes present in the hair and nails were consistent with the isotopic signatures of wherever he was at the time they were collected - Boston or Fairbanks. Armed with those results, Wooller and his wife co-authored a paper, which was recently accepted by Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry, the premier academic journal in his field.
So why not pot? That was the question posed by Wooller and his fellow researchers, Tim Howe, Norma Haubenstock and Melanie Rohr. in October 2005, they wrote a proposal to the University of Alaska Foundation President's Special Projects Fund. The proposal was titled, "A novel application of stable isotope techniques to ‘fingerprint' the origin of Marijuana in Alaska."
"Alaska's a great place to do that, because it has such a wide isotopic variation just across the state," Wooller says. "It also has marijuana being grown in numerous locations, and that's great. “Great for the study, he means.
Getting funding can be difficult, especially with complex, highly regulated projects. Wooller's proposal succeeded in winning that support, but the real work began when the proposal was accepted. The DEA must regulate all controlled substances, and an agent had to make sure there were controls in place for the marijuana study.
"It took us about a year to get the red tape out of the way, “Wooller says. With help from the UAF Police Department, Wooller’s team began the laborious process of getting authorized by the feds to manage marijuana.
Every last bit of pot must be accounted for and logged. The lab had to be outfitted with a tiny safe, which was bolted to the floor. To manage the marijuana, Wooller, Howe and Haubenstock had to undergo background checks. Deadbolts were added to doors entering the room where samples were weighed. Two people were required to observe the measuring in an adjoining room in case something went wrong. "It was kind of overkill, in my opinion, “Wooller says. But they jumped through the hoops.
The DEA, the UAF police, and the university's Office of Research Integrity checked off the changes to the lab. There was just one more obstacle, one that would be familiar to plenty of pot smokers: getting some weed.
"They said all they would need was a visible sample," says UAF Police Officer Stephen Goetz while sitting at the UAF Police Department. He's holding a small vial containing about a hundredth of a gram of marijuana. "If you could see it, that was enough."
At first, most of the samples came from traffic stops and officer contacts on or around campus, Goetz says. He catalogued each of them, wrote a short summary about when and where it was collected, and wrote the case number and date on the vial. At UAF, most of the officers specialize in a particular area of law enforcement. Goetz's specialty is drugs. He often assists the Alaska Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Enforcement in and around Fairbanks with busts of meth labs and marijuana grows.
Goetz started to get the word out about Wooller's marijuana study. Through his contacts with ABADE, they started getting samples from agencies outside of UAF, including many from the Alaska State Troopers in Fairbanks and the Soldotna Police Department.
UAF police were happy to help, because the project fit well with what they believe is their role in the community. "We see this police department here, on a college campus, as wanting to do more," says UAF Police Chief Sean McGee. "How can we work with the students and faculty as law enforcement to make this a better community?"
"Otherwise, I think you're just sticking your head in the sand if you just go out there and write tickets," McGee says. "There's a bigger picture here."
But it was sometimes difficult to depend on other departments, Goetz says. They might have been overstretched, and they weren’t invested in the project in the way UAF police are. For example, after a big bust somewhere, an agency might forget to collect samples, or they'd forget to do a summary, Goetz says. "It was a pain in the ass," he says.
Then he got in touch with the evidence custodian at
the Trooper post in Fairbanks. Goetz did most of the extra legwork of
cataloguing the seized evidence as samples for a science experiment.
"She had just piles of evidence down there," Goetz says. He catalogued about 40 samples, to add to the body of data yet to be analyzed.
The isotope lab's tan and silver-colored combustion unit - a three-foot by three-foot box that burns marijuana, among other things - is attached to an equally plain-looking mass spectrometer. At first, listening to Wooller explain how it works, the set up seems like it could be the world's most expensive bong.
After the tiny bits of pot are freeze-dried and weighed, they get put in a tin capsule and into a circular tray that has 50slots. Those trays get stacked on top of the pyrolysis unit - so called because it burns the sample without additional oxygen. (Introducing oxygen to the sample would affect the results, Woolley.) As the circular trays turn, samples are dropped into the pyrolysis unit.
Once the samples are weighed and prepared - and they’re continually being prepared - the machines can run 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The small pulse of carbon monoxide and nitrous oxide from the pot is cleaned up by the machine and placed into a constant stream of helium, an inert gas. Helium doesn't affect the samples, explains Wooller: "It's called the 'carrier' gas."
The gas and the sample enter the stable isotope ratio mass spectrometry. "The carbon monoxide is excited inside the mass spectrometer," Wooller says. "[Then it's] sent through a flight tube that passes in front of what's essentially a huge magnet," he says, making a sweeping motion with his hand across the front of the spectrometer. The magnet pulls on the isotopes proportionally to their relative atomic mass, Wooller says. Just as the isotopes fall out of the atmosphere proportionally, they also get yanked out of the stream of helium as the magnet pulls on them. Lighter isotopes get pulled off course more easily than heavier isotopes, which make it farther down the flight tube. Various collector cups line the inside, and sensors inside the cups register when they are hit with a stable isotope.
A sample might register a relatively heavy isotopic signature if enough atoms bang into the farthest cups down the tube - or it might register as a light signature, which is consistent with water from northern latitudes.
With the global database of isotopic signatures showing the signatures of water from locations all over the planet, and plenty of their own data, the researchers are able to create two maps. One shows marijuana migration patterns into Alaska, and another, marijuana migration patterns into the Lower 48.
What it shows is that the marijuana sampled in the study had taken up water with an isotopic signature consistent with various well locations around Fairbanks, including Water Wagon, a water delivery service. Some of the pot also appears to have been grown in Juneau and British Columbia. Some was consistent with signatures from as far south as Mexico.
The findings surprised Goetz, he says. If more data could be analyzed, and further study proved their early conclusions to be correct, he says, "maybe there needs to be a shift in interdiction techniques."
"If we find that more really is being shipped in," Goetz says, “then you'd have to look at how that's getting by you."
Still, Goetz and others recognize that plenty of that pot is coming from local growers. "I couldn't see the profit margin for shipping pot into Alaska when there's so much already here," Goetz says. "I can only conclude that the demand [for pot] is greater than publicly suspected."
Goetz has helped bust marijuana grows, and he's seen a lot of pot in his day. But so has Harvey Goehring, DEA Assistant Special Agent for Alaska. The fact that pot comes to Alaska from somewhere else isn't news to Goehring, who's been with the DEA for more than 20 years.
"I would ask, 'Why do you have anybody living anywhere buying dope from somewhere else?'" says Goehring.
While stationed in Colombia for two years during the '90s, Goehring says he once saw a shipping container full of pot - 20,000pounds of it, plus some coffee - at the Port of Cartagena. Colombia’s cocaine routinely makes its way through Mexico, and into the Lower 48 and Alaska. A lot even gets shipped to Europe, Goehring says. So it's not surprising that some pot comes here from far away, he says.
"We do have a lot of marijuana coming in [to Alaska] from Outside," Goehring says. "As the DEA, we know that."
Alaskans are a very diverse bunch, Goehring says, and for those who’ve moved here and are seeking drugs, the easiest way to get them is sometimes through contacts back home. It could come in a FedEx box or a flatbed trailer, Goehring says.
The hookup in British Columbia made millions of dollars for the criminal marijuana smuggling ring that was busted in 2006. "That street level person, he didn't know it was B.C. bud, but there were several links back to Canada," Goehring says.
While the study might not be a surprise to Goehring, it is valuable, he says. "Intelligence is always a great thing," he says. "If somebody hands me a piece of intelligence, I'm not going to say, 'Oh we don’t need that.' That's crazy."
"Whether that's going to be used in court I couldn't honestly say for sure," Goehring says. Several guilty pleas have been entered for suspects in the flatbed trailer ring, but a couple of the suspects are still awaiting adjudication.
Continued funding for Dr. Wooller's study is
currently pending. But he doesn't think most pot smokers have much to worry
about. "They're not trying to
pinpoint some smalltime grower," he says, “They’re trying to pinpoint
bigger, organized crime-type growers."
Alaska pot timeline and
laws https://alaskastatecannabis.org/laws
Key Points
·
Alaska residents can use or possess legal
amounts of medical and recreational marijuana.
·
Alaska residents must be 21 years and
above to buy cannabis without a prescription. Medical cannabis is available to
all registered patients; however, minors who have qualifying conditions can buy
prescribed weed with the help of their caregivers.
·
Alaska residents can only buy up to one
ounce of weed for both recreational and medical use.
·
Alaska residents can grow up to six
cannabis plants in their private properties.
·
Penalties for violating Alaska marijuana
laws range from misdemeanor to felony depending on the severity of the crime.
IS MARIJANA LEGAL IN ALASKA?
Yes, medical marijuana and recreational marijuana are
both legal in Alaska. The Marijuana Statutes and
Regulations of Alaska allow adults aged 21 years and above to grow, possess or purchase
marijuana for recreational purposes in limited quantities. Physicians are also
allowed to approve marijuana or marijuana products to treat different
conditions that their patients may be diagnosed with. Adults aged 21 and over
in Alaska are allowed to:
·
Possess,
use, display, or purchase up to one ounce (28 grams) of marijuana.
·
Possess,
grow, process, or transport not more than six marijuana plants. Out of the six
plants, not more than three are allowed to grow to maturity, i.e. the stage of
flowering and production of seeds.
·
Possess,
grow, and process not more than 12 marijuana plants in a single premises
occupied by more than one person aged 21 and over. Out of the 12 plants, not
more than six are allowed to grow to maturity, i.e. stage of flowering and
production of seeds.
·
Transfer
as much as one ounce of marijuana and up to six premature marijuana plants to
another adult who is 21 years or over without remuneration.
- Consume
marijuana, but not in public places.
- Assist
another adult aged 21 years or over to possess, grow and process marijuana
within the above-stated quantities and above stated conditions.
For
the medical uses of marijuana, patients with qualifying medical conditions can
apply for medical marijuana cards through the Alaska Medical Marijuana
Registry. The
qualifying conditions in Alaska are HIV/AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, severe pain,
seizures, severe nausea, cachexia/wasting syndrome, persistent muscle spasms,
and multiple sclerosis. Patients having MMJ cards, or their caregivers,
regardless of their ages, are allowed to:
- Purchase
and possess as much as one ounce (28 grams) of marijuana or less.
- Purchase
up to seven (7) grams of cannabis concentrate from a retail marijuana
store.
- Despite the legalization of recreational marijuana in Alaska, the possession of certain marijuana products and concentrates are illegal. These products and concentrates are hashish, hashish oil, and any compound, mixture, or preparation containing Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
Alaska
Marijuana Laws in 2024
The
state legalized medical marijuana by the passage of the Alaska Medical
Marijuana Act on November 3, 1998. The Act is also known as Measure 8. It was
passed into law as an indirectly initiated state statute. Recreational
marijuana was legalized in Alaska on February 24, 2015, following a successful
ballot in favor of the Act to Tax and Regulate
the Production, Sale, and Use of Marijuana in 2014. The Act, also referred to as
Alaska Measure 2, allows adults aged 21 years and over to possess up to one
ounce (28 grams) of marijuana and cultivate up to six plants of marijuana.
Several laws have been passed to amend the 2014 Act. New bills introduced by
Alaska lawmakers in 2022 include:
- House
Bill 289 - AK Marijuana Industry Task Force: This bill
seeks to create a marijuana industry task force that will review the
current cannabis tax system and provide recommendations. Although the bill
is now dismissed, the Governor issued Administrative
Order No. 339 in
September 2022, which serves as a replacement. Now regarded as the
Governor’s Advisory Task Force on Recreational Marijuana, the team
consists of 13 voting members and they will provide a report to the
Governor in January 2023. Implementation of recommendations provided by
the task force will lead to major changes in the Alaska marijuana
industry.
- House
Bill 246 - Access to Marijuana Conviction Records: This bill aims to erase most
low-level marijuana conviction history from the state’s e-database. Once
the bill is signed as law, the Alaska Court System's e-database, Court
View,
would no longer include searches for convictions for infractions such as
simple marijuana possession. However, courthouses would still have access
to the records. The bill is presently being considered by the Senate
Finance Committee; it also has the support of a number of Republican
senators, so it is likely to be passed before the term is up. Governor
Dunleavy tweeted on
April 20 to show his support for the bill.
Other administrative laws passed in 2021, which are now included in the 3 AAC 306 Regulations of the Marijuana Control Board are:
Section 3 AAC 306.435
Passed on March 13, 2020, this section requires that all marijuana cultivation facilities must have a Marijuana Inventory Tracking System. This ensures that all marijuana plants grown in the facility are identified and tracked from the time the marijuana is cultivated through transfer to another licensed marijuana establishment. Some of the plants may not be transferred to another marijuana facility but destroyed, and they still have to be tracked and reported. Also, a package of marijuana to be transferred to another marijuana establishment must not exceed 10 pounds in weight. Each batch of clones or cuttings must also be assigned a tracking number of batch names. Each batch must have 50 clones or less.
Sections 3 AAC 306.025(b) and 3
AAC 306.035(b)
Public Notice Form and Renewal of Application: Passed on
March 25, 2020, the bill outlines the application procedure to obtain a license
or endorsement for the establishment of a new marijuana establishment. An
applicant for the license or endorsement is required to complete a Public Notice Posting
Affidavit using
the Marijuana Control Boards' electronic system. The applicant must notify the
public by posting the public notice form for 10 days at:
- The
location of the proposed premises where the license is to be used
- A
conspicuous location in the area where the license is proposed to be used
The applicant is required to publish an announcement
once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper or via an alternative
media broadcast method. They are also required to submit a copy of the application
to the local government in the area where the proposed premises is located. The
administrative procedures to determine if the application is successful takes
90 days.
For license renewal, a marijuana establishment will be
required by the Marijuana Control Board to:
- Provide
the license number, license type, establishment name, and premises address
of the license to be renewed.
- Provide
the name of the applicant, business name of the marijuana establishment,
social security number, and the applicant's state business license number.
- Provide
the mailing address, telephone number, and social security number of the
proposed licensee.
- Pay
the license
renewal fee applicable
for their license type.
These must be done on or before the 31st of August each year.
Section 3 AAC 306.100(d)
Increased License Fees for Testing Facilities: On March
25, 2020, the legislature adjusted the annual license or endorsement fee
payable by applicants for a new marijuana facility. The new license fees are as
follows:
- A
new retail marijuana store license costs $5,000, while a retail marijuana
store license renewal costs $7,000.
- A
new limited marijuana cultivation facility license costs $1,000, while the
renewal of a limited marijuana cultivation facility license costs $1,400.
- A
new standard marijuana cultivation facility license costs $5,000, while
the renewal of a standard marijuana cultivation facility license costs
$7,000.
- A
new marijuana concentrate manufacturing facility license costs $1,000, and
the renewal of a marijuana concentrate manufacturing facility license
costs $2,000.
- A
new marijuana testing facility license costs $1,000, and the renewal of a
marijuana testing facility license costs $5,000.
- An
onsite consumption endorsement to a retail marijuana store license costs
$2,000.
Section 3 AAC 306.640(b)
Testing Oversight: On March 25, 2020, the Alaska legislature amended the 3 AAC 306.640(b) of the Regulations of the Marijuana Control Board. With the amendment, the scientific directors of every marijuana testing facility will need to approve, sign, and date each standard operating procedure. They shall also need to approve, sign, and date every revision to any standard operating procedure. The scientific directors shall provide each revision to any standard operating procedure to the board within 10 days after approval for review by the board or the board's contractor. The board or board contractors need to approve a revised standard operating procedure before they are implemented.
Section 3 AAC 306.305(a)
Emergency Regulations in Response to Covid-19: On April
17, 2021, the Alaska legislature made some regulations on the activities of
retail marijuana stores. With the new regulation, a licensed retail marijuana
store is authorized to:
- Sell
marijuana and marijuana products within approved limits to adults aged 21
years and over, to be consumed off the retail store premises.
- Store
marijuana or marijuana products in restricted areas within the licensed
premises.
- Allow
the consumption of marijuana or marijuana products on the approval of the
Marijuana Control Board.
Section 3 AAC. 306.310(b)
Emergency Regulations in Response to Covid-19: Alaska
legislature, on April 17, 2021, made further regulations on the activities of
retail marijuana stores. These additional regulations stipulate that licensed
retail marijuana stores should not:
- Allow
consumers to access the premises of their retail marijuana store or
conduct business with customers between the hours of 5:00 a.m. and 8:00
a.m. every day.
- Allow
customers to consume marijuana or a marijuana product on the premises of
their licensed premises, except approved by the board.
- Offer
to deliver marijuana or marijuana products to consumers, either for
marketing purposes or for any other reason,
- Not
allow an intoxicated person or drunken person into the premises of a
retail marijuana store.
Section 3 AAC.306.99
Internet and Phone Orders; Exterior Window or Curbside Pickup: On April 17, 2020, retail marijuana stores were permitted to receive orders through the internet or telephone, only if the customers will come and collect the product physically. Retail marijuana stores are also allowed to supply customers at a location designated for exterior window or curbside pickup.
Section 3 AAC 306.355
Limit on Quantity Sold: On the 18th of October 2020, the
Alaska legislature amended section 3 AAC 306.355. With the amendment, the
quantities of products that a marijuana retail store can sell to one person per
day are limited to:
- One
ounce of usable marijuana.
- Seven
grams of marijuana concentrates for inhalation.
- 5,600
milligrams of THC in combined sales of marijuana and marijuana products.
Section 3 AAC 306.015(b)(4)
Corporate Officer and Director of a Corporation to be Residents of the State: On the 18th of October 2020, the legislature amended section 3 AAC 306.015(b)(4). With this amendment, the conditions to issue, renew, or transfer a marijuana establishment certificate now include that corporate officers and directors are residents in Alaska. Also, in the case of a corporation, the corporation must be registered in the state.
Section 3 AAC 306.800(a), 3 AAC
306.830, and 3 AAC 306.845(b)
Amendment to Add Administrative Hold and Seizure
Provision: On December 6, 2020, these amendments were made to allow the
director, other officers of the marijuana board, or a peace officer to:
- Inspect
the premises of a marijuana establishment and their overlapping premises.
They may also inspect marijuana and marijuana products on the premises and
operational equipment and business records at any reasonable time.
- Issue
reports on their findings in the facility
- Seize
or place an administrative hold on marijuana or any marijuana product in a
marijuana establishment in situations that:
- The
products are not properly logged into the marijuana establishment's
inventory tracking system.
- They
have adulterated marijuana products, improperly packaged or improperly
labeled products in the facility.
Sections 3 AAC 306.460 and 3 AAC 306.557
Regulations about Sample that May be Provided to an
Employee for Quality Control Purposes: This amendment was made on December 25,
2020. It stipulates the condition in which a marijuana cultivation facility may
prepare a free sample of marijuana to a retail marijuana store. The conditions
are as follows:
- The
marijuana must be packaged in a sample jar containing a maximum of three
and one-half grams of marijuana. This is to be protected by a plastic or
metal mesh screen to allow the retail store to smell the product before
purchase.
- A
free sample of marijuana provided to negotiate a sale must not be more
than one ounce.
- A
marijuana cultivation facility may not provide more than one ounce of
marijuana as a free sample per month to a licensed retail marijuana store.
Section 3 AAC 306.325(a) amended and 3 AAC
306.712
A New Section Regulating the Breastfeeding of a Child on Licensed Premises: The amendment and the new section were made on January 1, 2021. The amendment restricts persons under age 21 from access to marijuana retail stores. The new section, section 3 AAC 306.712, allows a breastfeeding mother, a licensee or employee of a licensee, to bring a child up to 12 months into licensed premises. However, she may not take the child to restricted areas in the facility or onsite consumption areas in the premises. The licensee may designate an area in the facility for breastfeeding or for breastfeeding mothers to have a comfortable place to express milk in bottles for their babies.
Sections 3 AAC 306.030; 3 AAC
306.080; 3 AAC 306.370; 3 AAC 306.990(b).
Onsite Consumption-Clean up: These sections of the law are passed and are due to take effect on August 7, 2021. They allow the Marijuana Control Board, division of the Alcohol & Marijuana Control Office, to approve the onsite consumption endorsement for licensed retail marijuana stores. Consumers may consume marijuana or marijuana products in the onsite consumption area. However, the approval may be hindered if there is a local or state law prohibiting the siting of an onsite consumption area in the licensed premises.
Timeline
of Cannabis Law in Alaska
- 1937: Marijuana
became illegal in Alaska and other states in the US.
- 1975: Alaska
legislators passed the law to decriminalize cannabis on May 16, 1975. The
law, which was approved without the Governor’s signature, imposed a
$100-fine for simple marijuana possession. In the same year, the Alaska
Supreme Court declared, during the Ravin v. State court proceedings, that
residents had the right to possess marijuana.
- 1982: Alaska
legislators introduced and approved further decriminalization bills after
the Ravin v. State ruling. The new law will impose only civil fines and
other minimal penalties on persons who carry up to four ounces of
marijuana at home and one ounce in public places.
- 1990: The first
ballot measure (Measure 2) introduced in 1990 was designed to
recriminalize marijuana in Alaska. Approved with 54.3% of Alaska voters,
the measure imposed a 90-day jail sentence and $1000-fine for simple
possession offenses.
- 1998: Medical
cannabis became legal after more than 58% of Alaska voters approved the
Alaska Medical Marijuana Initiative or Measure 8 in 1998. The new law
allowed medical patients with qualifying conditions and physician’s
recommendation to buy up to 1 ounce of weed. Patients with medical
marijuana cards can also grow up to six marijuana plants in Alaska.
- 2006: The
Governor pushed for a legislative bill that would recriminalize cannabis
in 2006. In the new law, residents found with less than four ounces of
marijuana without a prescription will face misdemeanor charges; penalties
for these charges range from 90 days to one year jail term.
- 2014: Recreational marijuana became legal in 2014 to be effective from February 25, 2015. More than 53% of voters approved Measure 2, which allows residents to own up to one ounce of weed and grow six marijuana plants.
Federal
Legalization of Weed in 2024
US
lawmakers have passed different bills in 2022 to legalize marijuana, which is
already legal in several states. Although adult-use marijuana is now legal in
Alaska and 18 US states, it is still prohibited at the federal level. In 2018,
the US Farm Bill legalized use and
cultivation of low-THC cannabis, also known as hemp. A year later, the US House
of Representatives presented the Marijuana Opportunity,
Reinvestment, and Expungement (MORE) Act in a bid to legalize recreational and medical
marijuana. The 2019 MORE Act was passed by the House in 2020 but failed to gain
approval from the Senate. In 2022, the House moved forward with another MORE
Act, which seeks to:
- Remove
cannabis from the illicit drugs list in the 1970 Controlled Substances Act
- Eliminate
cannabis-related federal offense penalties
- Expunge
previous marijuana convictions
- Permit
other states to develop their own regulatory frameworks free from federal
interference
- Prevent
non-citizens from suffering immigration consequences as a result of using
and possessing marijuana
- Stop
federal organizations from refusing qualified applicants access to school
loans, government benefits, or jobs because they consume marijuana
- Support
community social services that have been impacted by the protracted war on
drugs through a federal excise tax of 5% on marijuana sales
Meanwhile,
the US Senate is also working on its own marijuana legislation bill known as
the Cannabis Administration
and Opportunity Act (CAOA). Like the MORE Act, this bill will delist cannabis from
the DEA’s Schedule 1 drugs and allow states to
legalize marijuana without federal interference. The CAO Act will also resolve
a number of issues that are currently plaguing legislated state cannabis
markets. Examples of those issues include:
- Lack
of financial services accessibility
- Federal
tax returns on marijuana establishments
- Absence
of uniform federal administrative regulations and standards
If enacted into law, the bill will promote inclusion and diversity among licensed business owners in supervised cannabis markets and designates cash to be reinvested in regions that have been unduly disadvantaged by the War on Drugs.
The US President has also helped increase the prospect of federal legalization by issuing a marijuana reform executive order in October 2022. The executive action will pardon persons convicted of simple marijuana possession and other states to conduct similar state pardons. President Biden also asked the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Attorney General to review how cannabis is scheduled under the Controlled Substances Act.
Can I Use
Cannabis?
Yes. Under Section 17.38.020 of Alaska Statutes, an individual 21 years of age or older can legally use, possess, cultivate, gift, and transport up to 1 ounce of marijuana. Per Section 17.38.40 of Alaska Statutes, residents can possess or use up to 4 ounces of marijuana within the confines of their residence. Using marijuana in a retail shop approved for onsite consumption is also legal in Alaska. Unlike the recreational marijuana laws, Alaska Medical Marijuana Laws permit individuals under the age of 21 to use marijuana for medical purposes. The law mandates that the use of marijuana to treat debilitating medical conditions such as cachexia, cancer, chronic pain, glaucoma, and HIV/AIDS, must be based on a doctor's prescription. It also requires individuals under the age of 21 to get parental or guardian consent to enable them to use medical marijuana.
Marijuana is the dried flower
and leaves of the marijuana plant. It contains psychoactive compounds like
tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and other active compounds like cannabidiol (CBD).
Due to the psychoactive properties of marijuana, it is classified as a Schedule I drug by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration. Historically, marijuana has
not always been considered an illegal drug. In the 1800s, marijuana was heavily
used for medical purposes. Moves to regulate it began in the late 1800s when
the medical community considered it a narcotic that needed to be regulated.
The 1910 Mexican Revolution saw the influx of Mexican
immigrants and their culture of smoking marijuana to the United States. This
led to abuse of the drug and an increased public sentiment against the use of
marijuana. As a result of the growing abuse of marijuana, the United States Congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act in 1937. Shortly after, 23 states
passed laws criminalizing the possession of marijuana. This was followed by the
removal of marijuana from the United States
Pharmacopeia in
1942. Marijuana was eventually listed in the Federal Narcotics Control Act in 1956, making its
possession illegal in the U.S. In 1972, a panel was set up by President Richard
Nixon to investigate marijuana regulations. After its investigations, the panel
recommended that marijuana be decriminalized. This led to several states
liberalizing their marijuana laws.
Alaska has several restrictions on the use of
recreational marijuana. These include:
- Age
Restrictions: Per Alaska
Statutes Section 17.38.020, only individuals 21 years and older
are permitted to use marijuana recreationally. However, the Medical
Use of Marijuana Law permits individuals under the age of 21 to
use medical marijuana. Such individuals must have a physician's
prescription and parental or guardian consent.
- Consumption
Restrictions: Per Alaska
Statutes Section 17.38.40, the state restricts the consumption
of marijuana to private places. Individuals who consume marijuana in public
risk up to a $100 fine. Marijuana consumption is also prohibited on
federal properties, school buses, workplaces, correctional facilities, or
within 500 feet of school ground or a youth center.
- Restriction on Sale: Alaska prohibits the sale of cannabis to individuals under the influence of alcohol or any controlled substance. Per Alaska Statutes Section 17.38.020, it is illegal to sell marijuana to individuals under the age of 21. Also, Alaska Statutes Section 17.38.230 forbids a licensed marijuana establishment from selling marijuana in an established village where the voters have voted against the sale of marijuana.
How The Legal Sale Of Cannabis In Alaska
Happens
In Alaska, the law allows adults aged 21 years and over
to purchase recreational marijuana, but it can only be purchased from
state-licensed marijuana retail stores. Anyone interested in buying
recreational marijuana products needs to locate a marijuana retail store and
present their identity cards to be able to make a purchase. It is not
compulsory for authorized buyers to have Alaskan residential addresses or
Alaskan identification cards. Any government-issued identification card is
sufficient. Cash payment is the most acceptable means of payment for
recreational marijuana purchases. There is a federal prohibition preventing
legal marijuana businesses from using banking services; however, some retail
marijuana stores claim to accept card payments. The sales and consumption of
certain marijuana products and concentrates such as hashish, hashish oil, and
any compound, mixture, or preparation containing Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) are
illegal.
A patient, their caregiver, an alternate caregiver, a
parent or guardian to a minor patient can buy medical marijuana from a retail
marijuana store. It is unlikely that you will find a marijuana retail store
solely dedicated to the sales of medical marijuana. The purchase of medical
marijuana from a marijuana retail store requires the purchaser to present their
registry identification card. Minors are not allowed to gain access to
marijuana establishments or to purchase marijuana or marijuana products. The consumption
of marijuana can only be in a private place and not in a marijuana retail store
or any other public place.
Operating a retail marijuana
store in Alaska requires the applicant to complete and submit some forms.
The applicant also needs to submit proof of possession for their proposed premises, and their food safety permit. They will also need to submit their fingerprint card, pay fingerprint fees of $48.25, new application fees of $1,000, and retail store license fee of $5,000.
Penalties for Marijuana-related Crimes in Alaska
AS 17.38 states stringent regulations that guide the sales and consumption of marijuana and marijuana products in the state. The offenses and applicable punishments are stated below:
Possession In Alaska
Alaska marijuana possession laws allow anyone aged 21 years
or over to possess not more than one ounce (28 grams) of marijuana. The
violation of these limits may warrant punishments.
- Possession
of between more than one ounce and less than four ounces of marijuana is
deemed a misdemeanor. This may warrant one-year imprisonment, a $10,000
fine, or both.
- Possession
of four ounces of marijuana may warrant a felony charge punishable by five
years’ imprisonment, a $50,000 fine, or both.
- Possession of any quantity of marijuana within 500 feet of a school ground or recreational center may warrant a felony charge punishable with five years’ imprisonment, or a $50,000 fine, or both. The consumption of marijuana in public is a violation punishable by a fine of $100.
Possession With Intent To Distribute In
Alaska
Unauthorized
possession of marijuana for distribution in Alaska is illegal. Only authorized
marijuana retail stores are allowed to sell marijuana and marijuana products
according to Alaska marijuana distribution laws.
- The
possession of less than one ounce of marijuana for distribution may
warrant a misdemeanor charge punishable with one-year imprisonment, a
$10,000 fine, or both.
- The
possession of one ounce of marijuana or more may warrant a felony charge
punishable by five years’ imprisonment, a $50,000 fine, or both.
- The
sales or delivery of less than one ounce of marijuana may warrant a charge
with a misdemeanor punishable with one-year imprisonment, a $10,000 fine,
or both.
- The
sales or delivery of one ounce of marijuana or more may warrant a felony
charge punishable by 5 years imprisonment, a $50,000 fine, or both.
- The
sale or delivery of marijuana to a person under 19 years, or who is three
or more years younger than the seller may warrant a felony charge
punishable by 10 years imprisonment, or a $100,000 fine, or both.
- The
delivery, manufacture, or possession of any quantity of hash, hashish oil,
and other compounds containing THC concentrate may warrant a felony charge
punishable by one to three years of imprisonment or a $100,000 fine or
both.
- Delivering,
manufacturing, or possessing hash or THC concentrates with an intent to
deliver is a Class B felony, which is punishable by a fine of up to
$100,000 or one to three years imprisonment.
- Delivery
of any quantity of hash or concentrate of marijuana to an individual who
is less than 19 years of age or at least three years younger than the
person delivering the substance is a first-degree felony. It is an offense
punishable by a fine of up to $500 or a sentence of 5-99 years.
- There are no laws in Alaska punishing the possession, sale, or cultivation of marijuana paraphernalia.
Cultivation
In Alaska
Adults who are 21 years of age or more are also allowed
to grow not more than six plants of marijuana in a secured area of their
private residence, with no more than three of these being matured and
flowering. A violation of Alaska
marijuana limitations may warrant a fine of up to $750.
Marijuana Consumption In Alaska
Smoking marijuana in public places like parks and sidewalks is prohibited in Alaska. Residents found guilty of this violation may pay a civil fine of $100 or face further charges. Marijuana consumption on the premises close to playgrounds and schools may result in severe penalties. Both visitors and residents can smoke marijuana or eat edibles on private properties. As a renter, it is important to seek the consent of the landlord before smoking. Also, employees are advised to adhere to the companies’ policies on marijuana to avoid being fired for smoking weed.
Driving
Under The Influence Of Marijuana In Alaska
Apart from being harmful, driving when high often leads to jail sentences, fine payment, and license suspension. Marijuana DUI punishments in Alaska increase with the number of subsequent offenses. For instance, a motorist with a first marijuana DUI conviction may get a $1500 fine, license suspension for 90 days, a 72-hour jail sentence, and a compulsory ignition interlock device. A second DUI conviction will result in $3000 fine, 20 days jail time, license suspension for one year, and compulsory ignition interlock device. Further convictions may attract lifetime license suspension and other felony charges.
Additional Limitations
The possession of hashish and concentrates of marijuana
either for recreational or medical purposes is not legal in Alaska.
- Possession
of any quantity of hash, hashish oil, and other compounds, mixtures, or
preparations containing THC concentrates may warrant a charge with a
misdemeanor punishable by up to one year jail or $10,000 fine or both.
- The
possession of hash or concentrates of marijuana on a school bus or within
500 feet of a school or youth center may warrant a charge of Class C
felony. Such a charge is punishable by a jail term of up to two years if
the person involved is a first-time offender. Subsequent offenses may
warrant a jail term of up to five years imprisonment. (“Alaska Marijuana
Laws 2024 | AlaskaStateCannabis.org”) (“Alaska Marijuana Laws 2024 |
AlaskaStateCannabis.org”)
- A
person under 21 years of age should not falsify their age or identity in
an attempt to purchase marijuana or gain access to a marijuana
establishment. "Anyone found guilty of such falsification will be
guilty of a violation punishable by a fine up to $400." (“Alaska
Marijuana Laws 2024 | AlaskaStateCannabis.org”)
- A person found violating Alaska marijuana trafficking laws risks forfeiting assets to law enforcement agencies. "In Alaska, confiscation of assets like vehicles, houses, and cash is possible if the law enforcer found that the asset is part of the proceeds from controlled substance violations." (“Alaska Marijuana Laws 2024 | AlaskaStateCannabis.org”)
Possible
Remedies For Violators Of Alaska Marijuana Laws
It is possible to
beat marijuana violation charges in an Alaska court. "With the help of a
professional lawyer, defendants can get their charges reduced or dismissed by
providing different defense techniques such as:" (“Alaska Marijuana Laws
2024 | AlaskaStateCannabis.org”)
- Illegal
or warrantless search
- Excessive
force by the arresting officers
- Wrong
amounts of marijuana
Some defendants may be eligible for diversionary programs in Alaska. These programs are mostly for first-time violators or juvenile offenders charged with simple possession violations in Alaska. If a court approves the diversion or probation program, the defendant is expected to meet some requirements such as attend therapy sessions, perform community services, and complete regular drug testing. Defendants who successfully complete the diversionary program will have their charges dropped and records expunged
What is Alaska's Cannabis History?
Alaska decriminalized the consumption of marijuana for the first time on May 16, 1975. Decriminalization became law even without the governor's signature. About one week later, the Alaska Supreme Court delivered a judgment, Ravin v. State, which held that adults have the constitutional right to use and possess small amounts of marijuana in the home for personal use. By the supreme court ruling, Alaska became the first state in the U.S. to announce a constitutional right to privacy. The constitutional right to privacy allows a limited level of marijuana use and possession. In 1982, the Alaska State legislature decriminalized the possession of up to four ounces (110 grams) of marijuana in the home, or up to one ounce (28 grams) of marijuana outside the home.
In 1990, the Alaska Marijuana
Criminalization Initiative also called Measure 2 (1990) re-criminalized
marijuana by a vote of 54.3% in support of the initiative. By the measure, a
penalty of up to 90 days in jail and a fine of up to $1000 are imposed for simple
possession of marijuana. Medical marijuana was legalized in Alaska in 1998 by a
ballot measure known as Measure 8. The legalization was passed by a vote of
58.7% in favor of the use of medical marijuana. By this law, patients with
doctor's recommendations can possess up to one ounce (28 grams) of recreational
marijuana or grow up to six plants of marijuana. In 2000, there was an attempt
to legalize recreational marijuana, but it failed, having only 40.9% of the
vote. Again in 2004, another measure to legalize the recreational use of
marijuana failed, having only 44.3% of the vote.
The Alaska legislature in 2006 passed a law criminalizing the possession of quantities of marijuana less than one ounce (28 grams). By the new law, the possession of less than one ounce of marijuana was classified as a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days imprisonment. The possession of one to four ounces of marijuana (28-110 grams) of marijuana became a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year imprisonment. Also, possession of more than four ounces (110 grams) of marijuana became a felony. The recreational use of marijuana was finally legalized in Alaska in 2014 through a ballot tagged Measure 2, which passed with a vote of 53.2%. The law allows adults of the age of 21 years and above to possess up to one ounce (28 grams) of marijuana and cultivate six plants of marijuana. This took effect from February 24, 2015. The sale of recreational marijuana was thereby allowed at state-licensed marijuana retail stores, along with medical marijuana.
What are Restrictions on Cannabis in Alaska?
Alaska has legalized both the recreational uses and
medical uses of marijuana. However, there are restrictions placed on the use of
marijuana. The restrictions placed on the use of marijuana in Alaska are:
- No
one under the age of 21 years is allowed to purchase or use recreational
marijuana
- No
one is allowed to grow more than six plants of marijuana, with no more
than three being mature and flowering
- The
possession of more than one ounce (28 grams) of marijuana is illegal
- It
is illegal to use or display marijuana in public (regardless of the type)
- It
is illegal to purchase or use marijuana within 500 feet of a school ground
or recreational center in Alaska
- It
is illegal to possess marijuana for the purpose of distribution without a
license
- It
is illegal to sell marijuana to anyone below the age of 21
- The
possession and consumption of hashish, hashish oil, and other compounds,
mixtures or preparations containing THC for recreational and medical
purposes is illegal in Alaska
- Driving
under the influence of marijuana is prohibited in Alaska
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