SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
Alaska has officially become the third state to legalize recreational marijuana for adults. (Photo: Brett Levin/flickr/cc)
Following a sweeping win at the ballot box in November, recreational marijuana officially became legal in Alaska on Tuesday, making it the third state in the country--behind Washington and Colorado--to allow adults over 21 to smoke, possess, grow, and transport pot.
Alaska voters passed their legalization bill 53-47 percent in the midterm elections. In addition to making private use legal for adults, the legislation will create a marketplace to tax and regulate the sale of marijuana, though that portion is not expected to be put in place until 2016 at the earliest.
Oregon and Washington, D.C. also voted to legalize recreational marijuana in November. Oregon will make the law official in July, while D.C. faces ongoing obstruction from Congress.
Beginning Tuesday, Alaska now has nine months to create regulations for the sale and distribution of marijuana. Commercial farming will also be under consideration next year. For now, buying or bartering for marijuana remains illegal.
"First Colorado and Washington, now Alaska and Oregon--and all with levels of support higher than the winning candidates for governor and U.S. Senate achieved in those states," said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance. "Legalizing marijuana just makes sense now to voters across the political spectrum and--as we'll likely see in 2016--across the country."
Some complex legal matters remain. The Alaska Dispatch News this month unveiled a new column, Highly Informed, to help residents cull important information about the law, from basic awareness to rules for renters who want to grow their own plants.
As the ADN details, the state's new state pot law stipulates:
While future legislation and pending regulation remain under review, organizers called on legalization supporters to celebrate cautiously. "[D]on't do anything to give your neighbors reason to feel uneasy about this new law," wrote bill co-sponsor Dr. Tim Hinterberger and Coalition for Responsible Cannabis Legislation spokesperson Bruce Schulte in an op-ed for the ADN last week. "We're in the midst of an enormous social and legal shift. Please do your part to make it as successful as possible by consuming responsibly."
Overall, as ADN noted, Tuesday, February 24, 2015 will go down as "a historic day in the Last Frontier."
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Following a sweeping win at the ballot box in November, recreational marijuana officially became legal in Alaska on Tuesday, making it the third state in the country--behind Washington and Colorado--to allow adults over 21 to smoke, possess, grow, and transport pot.
Alaska voters passed their legalization bill 53-47 percent in the midterm elections. In addition to making private use legal for adults, the legislation will create a marketplace to tax and regulate the sale of marijuana, though that portion is not expected to be put in place until 2016 at the earliest.
Oregon and Washington, D.C. also voted to legalize recreational marijuana in November. Oregon will make the law official in July, while D.C. faces ongoing obstruction from Congress.
Beginning Tuesday, Alaska now has nine months to create regulations for the sale and distribution of marijuana. Commercial farming will also be under consideration next year. For now, buying or bartering for marijuana remains illegal.
"First Colorado and Washington, now Alaska and Oregon--and all with levels of support higher than the winning candidates for governor and U.S. Senate achieved in those states," said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance. "Legalizing marijuana just makes sense now to voters across the political spectrum and--as we'll likely see in 2016--across the country."
Some complex legal matters remain. The Alaska Dispatch News this month unveiled a new column, Highly Informed, to help residents cull important information about the law, from basic awareness to rules for renters who want to grow their own plants.
As the ADN details, the state's new state pot law stipulates:
While future legislation and pending regulation remain under review, organizers called on legalization supporters to celebrate cautiously. "[D]on't do anything to give your neighbors reason to feel uneasy about this new law," wrote bill co-sponsor Dr. Tim Hinterberger and Coalition for Responsible Cannabis Legislation spokesperson Bruce Schulte in an op-ed for the ADN last week. "We're in the midst of an enormous social and legal shift. Please do your part to make it as successful as possible by consuming responsibly."
Overall, as ADN noted, Tuesday, February 24, 2015 will go down as "a historic day in the Last Frontier."
Following a sweeping win at the ballot box in November, recreational marijuana officially became legal in Alaska on Tuesday, making it the third state in the country--behind Washington and Colorado--to allow adults over 21 to smoke, possess, grow, and transport pot.
Alaska voters passed their legalization bill 53-47 percent in the midterm elections. In addition to making private use legal for adults, the legislation will create a marketplace to tax and regulate the sale of marijuana, though that portion is not expected to be put in place until 2016 at the earliest.
Oregon and Washington, D.C. also voted to legalize recreational marijuana in November. Oregon will make the law official in July, while D.C. faces ongoing obstruction from Congress.
Beginning Tuesday, Alaska now has nine months to create regulations for the sale and distribution of marijuana. Commercial farming will also be under consideration next year. For now, buying or bartering for marijuana remains illegal.
"First Colorado and Washington, now Alaska and Oregon--and all with levels of support higher than the winning candidates for governor and U.S. Senate achieved in those states," said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance. "Legalizing marijuana just makes sense now to voters across the political spectrum and--as we'll likely see in 2016--across the country."
Some complex legal matters remain. The Alaska Dispatch News this month unveiled a new column, Highly Informed, to help residents cull important information about the law, from basic awareness to rules for renters who want to grow their own plants.
As the ADN details, the state's new state pot law stipulates:
While future legislation and pending regulation remain under review, organizers called on legalization supporters to celebrate cautiously. "[D]on't do anything to give your neighbors reason to feel uneasy about this new law," wrote bill co-sponsor Dr. Tim Hinterberger and Coalition for Responsible Cannabis Legislation spokesperson Bruce Schulte in an op-ed for the ADN last week. "We're in the midst of an enormous social and legal shift. Please do your part to make it as successful as possible by consuming responsibly."
Overall, as ADN noted, Tuesday, February 24, 2015 will go down as "a historic day in the Last Frontier."