Alaska Measure 2 or the Alaska Marijuana Criminalization Initiative was a successful 1990 ballot measure in the U.S. state of

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

; the initiative stated that it: "would change Alaska's laws by making all such possession of marijuana criminal, with possible penalties of up to 90 days in jail and/or up to a $1000 fine." The legal status of cannabis in Alaska has varied greatly since the passage in 1972 of a

constitutional amendment A constitutional amendment is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly altering the text. Conversely, t ...

affirming an individual's

right to privacy The right to privacy is an element of various legal traditions that intends to restrain governmental and private actions that threaten the privacy of individuals. Over 150 national constitutions mention the right to privacy. On 10 December 1948 ...

. Alaska had previously recognized that right to privacy with respect to possession and use of cannabis with the 1975 ''

Ravin v. State ''Ravin v. State'', 537 P.2d 494 (Ak. 1975), was a unanimous decision by the Alaska Supreme Court. Decided on May 27, 1975, the Court held that the Constitution of Alaska, Alaska Constitution's right to privacy protects an adult's ability to use a ...

'' case in the Alaska Supreme Court. The

state legislature A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

then decriminalized marijuana in 1982. The measure's passage in 1990 met with a variety of court challenges over the years before being struck down in 2003 by the

Alaska Court of Appeals The Alaska Court of Appeals is an intermediate court of appeals for criminal cases in the State of Alaska's judicial department ( Alaska Court System), created in 1980 by the Alaska Legislature as an additional appellate court to lessen the burden ...

in ''

Noy v. State ''Noy v. State'' is a case decided by the Alaska Court of Appeals in 2003. David S. Noy was convicted of possessing less than eight ounces of marijuana by a jury. However, in 1975, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled in ''Ravin v. State'' that possessing ...

''. Reversing the decision of this measure, Alaska voters ultimately legalized marijuana with a different Measure 2 in 2014.

Results

Campaign

The leader of the initiative campaign Alaskans for the Recriminalization of Marijuana was Marie Majewske, described as an "Anchorage grandmother". The initiative also received support from

William Bennett William John Bennett (born July 31, 1943) is an American conservative politician and political commentator who served as secretary of education from 1985 to 1988 under President Ronald Reagan. He also held the post of director of the Office of ...

, President Bush's

Drug Czar Drug czar is an informal name for the person who directs drug-control policies in various areas. The term follows the informal use of the term ''czar'' in U.S. politics. The 'drug czar' title first appeared in a 1982 news story by United Press Int ...

, who planned to visit Alaska to campaign for the measure; the DEA and FBI also sponsored a ''Marijuana Myths and Misconceptions'' symposium in Anchorage. Opposition to the initiative was led by Alaskans for Privacy, and the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) gave top priority to defeating the initiative, contributing "nearly $16,000" to opposition efforts by late September. Polling across Alaska in August of that year showed a nearly 2–1 margin of support for the measure. Gubernatorial candidates

Arliss Sturgulewski Jane Arliss Sturgulewski (née Wright; September 27, 1927 – April 7, 2022) was an American businesswoman and Republican politician from the U.S. state of Alaska. In a political career in which she started appearing in the spotlight in 1975, she ...

(Republican) and

Walter Hickel Walter Joseph Hickel (August 18, 1919 – May 7, 2010) was an American businessman, real estate developer, and politician who served as the second governor of Alaska from 1966 to 1969 and 1990 to 1994 and as U.S. Secretary of the Interior from 1 ...

( Alaskan Independence Party) supported the initiative, while Democrat Tony Knowles supported criminalization but not incarceration for first-time offenders. At the successful end of the campaign, Majewske announced:

It's wonderful, I have great faith in the people of this state. I truly believed they would do the right thing. I think that this will say to people that the law didn't work, and we need to be looking in the other direction, toward a drug-free environment for our children. The only way to do that is to tell them it's illegal.

References

External links

Alaska Marijuana Criminalization Initiative, Measure 2 (1990)
at

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{{Cannabis in the United States Cannabis ballot measures in the United States 1990s cannabis law reform in the United States Cannabis law in Alaska 1990 in cannabis Cannabis prohibition 1990 Alaska elections 1990 ballot measures Alaska ballot measures