SENATE BILL NO. 30                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
     "An Act relating to  controlled substances; relating to                                                                    
     marijuana;  relating  to  driving motor  vehicles  when                                                                    
     there  is an  open marijuana  container; and  providing                                                                    
     for an effective date."                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
9:05:37 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
AMY  SALTZMAN, STAFF,  SENATOR LESIL  MCGUIRE, explained  SB                                                                    
30.  She  shared that  the  bill  revised Alaska's  criminal                                                                    
statutes to ensure the public  safety of the community while                                                                    
following the  passage of Ballot  Measure 2 to  legalize and                                                                    
regulate  marijuana. The  legislation  provided clear  rules                                                                    
for  the public  and  for peace  officers.  She stated  that                                                                    
version  N  of the  legislation  was  structured to  provide                                                                    
citizens  with a  defense to  legal sanctions  stemming from                                                                    
the use, cultivation, and sale  of marijuana. The initiative                                                                    
sponsors and  others expressed  concern over  that approach,                                                                    
because it  was at  odds with  the ballot  initiative. Those                                                                    
opponents  asserted that  the onus  and expense  of avoiding                                                                    
punishment  would  fall to  the  person  participating in  a                                                                    
lawful  marijuana  related  activity   by  only  creating  a                                                                    
defense to  legal sanction.  The Senate  Judiciary Committee                                                                    
found those concerns persuasive,  so the bill was redrafted.                                                                    
She  stated that  the current  version of  the bill  removed                                                                    
"marijuana"  from the  controlled substances  schedules. The                                                                    
bill  set  clear  boundaries  within  Alaska  statute  in  a                                                                    
similar approach  to alcohol statutes.  She shared  that the                                                                    
majority of  the current version of  the bill was a  list of                                                                    
conforming statutes. She explained  that the current version                                                                    
of the bill  included the language in  the ballot initiative                                                                    
that  referred  to  recreational   use,  and  specified  the                                                                    
parameters of  that type of  marijuana. She stated  that the                                                                    
current  version   had  a   number  of   changes  addressing                                                                    
misconduct involving marijuana.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
9:08:03 AM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  MacKinnon announced  the  current  version of  the                                                                    
legislation. She  announced that marijuana for  personal use                                                                    
was legal as of the current day.                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
SB  30  was   HEARD  and  HELD  in   committee  for  further                                                                    
consideration.