03/21/2005 02:33 PM Senate HES
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB74 | |
| Adjourn |
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
SENATE HEALTH, EDUCATION AND SOCIAL SERVICES STANDING COMMITTEE
March 21, 2005
2:33 p.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Senator Fred Dyson, Chair
Senator Gary Wilken, Vice Chair
Senator Lyda Green
Senator Kim Elton
Senator Donny Olson
MEMBERS ABSENT
All members present
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
SENATE BILL NO. 74
"An Act making findings relating to marijuana use and
possession; relating to marijuana and misconduct involving a
controlled substance; and providing an effective date."
HEARD AND HELD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
BILL: SB 74
SHORT TITLE: CRIMES INVOLVING MARIJUANA/OTHER DRUGS
SPONSOR(s): RULES BY REQUEST OF THE GOVERNOR
01/21/05 (S) READ THE FIRST TIME - REFERRALS
01/21/05 (S) HES, JUD, FIN
03/21/05 (S) HES AT 1:30 PM BUTROVICH 205
WITNESS REGISTER
DEAN GUANELI
Chief Assistant Attorney General
Department of Law
PO Box 110300
Juneau, AK 99811-0300
POSITION STATEMENT: Introduced SB 74.
CAPTAIN AL STOREY
Alaska State Troopers
Juneau AK
POSITION STATEMENT: Commented on SB 74.
ACTION NARRATIVE
CHAIR FRED DYSON called the Senate Health, Education and Social
Services Standing Committee meeting to order at 2:33:41 PM.
Present were Senators Kim Elton, Donny Olson, Gary Wilken, Lyda
Green, and Chair Fred Dyson.
2:34:28 PM
SB 74-CRIMES INVOLVING MARIJUANA/OTHER DRUGS
CHAIR DYSON announced SB 74 to be up for consideration.
DEAN GUANELI, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Department of
Law (DOL), said that marijuana is illegal under federal law and
in every other state in the country except medical marijuana
states. Alaska is unique in that the court determined its
marijuana statute. Recently the Alaska appellate court ruled
that Alaskans could possess four ounces of marijuana in the
home.
2:37:55 PM
MR. GUANELI said he asked the Alaska Supreme Court to consider
new scientific evidence on marijuana, but it refused. He said
that the potency of marijuana is much higher that it was when
the Ravin decision was issued [in 1975] and the patterns of its
use have also changed.
2:43:31 PM
One does not think clearly when smoking marijuana and juveniles
are much more likely to commit violence when under the influence
of marijuana. Studies show that Native rural residents with
preschool children use marijuana at three times the national
average. Studies also show if parents approve of marijuana use,
the odds of their children using it are greater.
2:44 recording starts here due to a malfunction
SENATOR OLSON asked if one of his points was saying that 93
percent of Alaskan prisoners are currently using marijuana while
they are incarcerated.
MR. GUANELI explained that he meant that 93 percent had used
marijuana in the past.
2:48:51 PM
SENATOR ELTON asked whether it was true that nationally more
teens are in treatment for marijuana dependence than for alcohol
and all other illegal drugs combined and whether it was true of
Alaskan teens. He had not heard that in his community and other
communities he had traveled to.
MR. GUANELI replied that he knew that figure was true
nationally, but he didn't know about Alaska specifically. He
deferred the answer to Kristi Willard from the Division of
Behavioral Health.
2:50:59 PM
SENATOR ELTON asked if it was really true that marijuana was
comparable to alcohol in contributing to traffic accidents.
2:52:06 PM
MR. GUANELI replied studies show that marijuana is the second
leading substance of abuse by drivers, not involving alcohol as
well. Cocaine and methamphetamine use get a lot more media
attention. Some of the statistics that have been developed in
Alaska have not been greatly publicized and he thought that
meant the public is sticking its head in the sand when it comes
to marijuana. "And I think it's time to change that."
2:59:16 PM
SENATOR DYSON asked the difference between Schedule 1A and
Schedule 2 drugs.
MR. GUANELI advised that Schedule 1A drugs are generally
opiates. The "A" stands for Alaska. Schedule 2A drugs include
cocaine, LSD, methamphetamine, and drugs of that sort, because
they are considered to be less addictive, but when abused are
very bad. Schedule 3A drugs involve more prescription-type drugs
including Valium.
3:01:04 PM
CAPTAIN AL STOREY, Alaska State Troopers, said that the schedule
of drugs is based on the degree of addiction and marijuana is
currently scheduled as a 6A drug. It is a federal Schedule 1
drug.
CHAIR DYSON asked whether SB 74 would make marijuana a Schedule
1 drug.
MR. GUANELI replied no. It would remain a Schedule 6 drug. SB 74
also makes no change to the medical marijuana law that is on the
books, but it asks the Legislature to adopt a number of findings
about marijuana like what amount draws the line between a
misdemeanor and a felony; it also adopts some laws regarding
having marijuana in cars and changes the way live marijuana
plants are measured and quantified.
3:03:11 PM
CHAIR DYSON said he wanted information on the difference between
Schedule 3, 4 and 5 drugs.
CAPTAIN STOREY said he has spent 18 of his 25 years in the
department in drug enforcement. A lot of effort is spent on
doing marijuana eradication especially in Mat-Su and around
Fairbanks, but court decisions have taken the energy out of his
efforts. The standard that is required to do marijuana-type
investigations is substantially higher than for any other
criminal offence. He has heard that many youths in rural Alaska
now smoke dope and that is what fuels his passion to talk to the
Legislature about it. Eradication efforts in Alaska have
substantially decreased. One reason is that meth labs are on
the rise, another reason is that case law coming out of the
court of appeals is making it harder to investigate.
Consequently, a large amount of marijuana is being produced.
CHAIR DYSON commented that the stuff that is bring distributed
to our remote communities is largely homegrown.
CAPTAIN STOREY agreed that Alaska is self sufficient in
marijuana production. In 1982, large amounts of marijuana were
coming from other areas. It is now the number one case crop in
Alaska and a lot of it is shipped to other areas - even Hawaii.
CHAIR DYSON asked how does Alaskan marijuana gets shipped out.
CAPTAIN STOREY replied that he believes there are sophisticated
distribution networks in Alaska that are not easy to find. It is
shipped in the U.S. mail; it is shipped in suitcases to Hawaii
and recently to Bush villages.
3:10:44 PM
CAPTAIN STOREY said that many people grow six to eight plants
from seed, but some are cloned, a more sophisticated procedure.
That is why the THC content has gone from 2 percent in 1975 to
an average of 14 percent in Alaska. For many years, Alaska held
the national high for THC content at 29 percent. It is not
uncommon to find marijuana in the 16-17 percent THC content
range. Growing strong marijuana is difficult and requires proper
equipment such as lighting and temperature control. Buds
typically have the high content.
SENATOR GREEN asked what THC is.
CAPTAIN STOREY replied that tetra hydra canabinol or THC is the
active ingredient in marijuana. He said a pound of good dope in
the Anchorage areas costs typically about $4,000. The price
increases as you move farther from the production source and in
Nome and Unalakleet it is about $9,000.
CHAIR DYSON asked the price of a marijuana cigarette in rural
Alaska.
CAPTAIN STOREY advised that it can cost as much as $20. A gram
of marijuana in a village commonly goes for about $50.
CHAIR DYSON said he has heard that girls in the Anchorage area
trade services for marijuana and asked whether that was also
true in rural Alaska.
CAPTAIN STOREY replied yes.
3:19:49 PM
CAPTAIN STOREY said his experience is that it is not uncommon to
see people smoking dope when they are driving and the
implications of driving under the influence are strong, but it's
hard to develop a probable cause to get a blood or urine test to
detect THC even in obviously impaired drivers. A fair number of
vehicle accidents happen where people leave the scene for an
unexplained reason and a recent study shows that 60 percent of
these accidents are due to people who fall asleep. He speculated
that marijuana could be contributing to this sleepiness.
3:23:13 PM
CAPTAIN STOREY drew attention to a monitoring program run by
University of Alaska, Anchorage of people who were interviewed
about their drug usage when being taken into custody. Those
interviews were followed up with urine samples. Fifty-two and a
half percent of all the male arrestees in Anchorage during the
course of the program tested positive for marijuana. He wondered
if they were arrested because marijuana affected their decision
to do something that caused them to get arrested. He related
that 69 percent of Anchorage arrestees for domestic abuse had
marijuana in their system. He thought it was fair to say that
marijuana contributed to their actions by distorting their
thinking.
3:25:27 PM
SENATOR ELTON asked how long the presence of marijuana is
detectible.
CAPTAIN STOREY replied that it depends on the test. Some tests
are designed simply to detect marijuana, not measure how much.
The military uses that kind of sample, but there are other types
of tests.
SENATOR ELTON reasoned that the UAA tests in Anchorage could
have been detecting marijuana use from the distant past.
CAPTAIN STOREY agreed that was possible.
SENATOR OLSON asked him what his credentials were to interpret
these studies.
CAPTAIN STOREY replied that he has been in drug enforcement
since 1982 and had attended narcotics school. He also spent a
fair amount of time studying drugs during his advocacy.
3:29:35 PM
SENATOR OLSON said he assumed that he was not a physician.
CAPTAIN STOREY replied that was correct.
CHAIR DYSON said SB 74 would be held in committee. There being
no further business, he adjourned the meeting at 3:30:22 PM.
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