INITIATIVE PETITION BILL LANGUAGE
by Petition Sponsors
Petition ID: 01MRNA
AN ACT TO DECRIMINALIZE AND REGULATE CANNABIS
(HEMP INCLUDING MARIJUANA)
Posted 11/15/01
Proposed Bill:
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:
I. Add the following section to the criminal code of the State of Alaska, any laws or policies
to the contrary notwithstanding:
(1) Persons, 21 years or older, shall not be prosecuted, be denied any right or privilege, nor
be subject to criminal or civil penalties for the possession, cultivation, distribution, or
consumption of:
(a) Industrial hemp products. Hemp farmers and manufacturers of industrial hemp products shall
not be subject to any special zoning or licensing fees that are discriminatory or prohibitive.
(b) Hemp medicinal preparations.
(c) Hemp products for nutritional use.
(d) Hemp products for personal use in private. The State or any political subdivisions thereof
may not require a permit or license for non-commercial cultivation, transportation, distribution
or consumption of any hemp product.
(2) Definitions:
(a) The term "hemp" means hemp, cannabis, or marijuana, or any part or preparation of
the plant Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, Cannabis americana, or any species or variety of
plant of the genus Cannabis.
(b) The term "industrial hemp products" means all products made from hemp, cannabis,
or marijuana, that are not designed or intended for human consumption, and includes, but is not
limited to: paper, fiber, fuel, plastics, paint, seed for cultivation, animal feed, veterinary
medicine, oil, plants used for crop rotation, erosion control, or weed control.
(c) The term "hemp medicinal preparations" means all products made from hemp,
cannabis, or marijuana, that are designed, intended, or used for human consumption, for the
treatment of any disease, the relief of pain, or for any healing purpose including the treatment
or relief of asthma, glaucoma, arthritis, anorexia, migraine, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy,
nausea, stress, for use as an antiemetic, or as any healing agent, or as an adjunct to any
medical procedure or herbal treatment.
(d) The term "hemp products for nutritional use" means the use of any hemp product
intended for human consumption as food, for example, but not limited to: seed protein, seed oil,
seed cake, or gruel, or any preparation thereof.
(e) The term "personal use" means the use of any product, preparation or potency of
hemp, cannabis, or marijuana, intended for any relaxational, ritual, spiritual, or other
personal purpose.
(f) The term "hemp intoxicating products" means any hemp product other than industrial
hemp products, hemp medicinal preparations, or hemp products for nutritional use.
(3) Hemp medicinal preparations are hereby restored to the available list of medicines in
Alaska. Licensed physicians shall not be penalized for or restricted from prescribing or
recommending hemp preparations for medical purposes to patients of any age.
(4) Nothing in this bill prevents the regulation of hemp intoxicating products in a manner
similar to alcohol or tobacco.
(5) The manufacturing, marketing, distribution or sales between adults of equipment or
accessories designed or marketed for use in the planting, cultivation, harvesting, curing,
processing, packaging, storing, analyzing, consumption, or transportation of hemp, industrial
hemp products, hemp medicinal preparations, hemp products for nutritional use, or hemp products
for personal use shall not be prohibited.
II. Nothing in this Act will bar the State or any political subdivisions thereof from enacting
legislation, using reasonable standards to determine impairment, to regulate or prohibit persons
under the influence of hemp from operating a motor vehicle, heavy machinery, or otherwise
engaging in conduct which may affect public safety.
III. Nothing in this Act will bar the State or any political subdivisions thereof from limiting
the use of intoxicating hemp products in public places.
IV. No part of this initiative shall be so construed as to nullify any prevailing laws
concerning possession, use or manufacture of hemp intoxicating products by minors, nor any
prevailing laws concerning a sale, barter or gift of hemp intoxicating products by or to minors.
V. Severability: If any provision of this initiative, or the application of such provision to
any person or circumstance, shall be held invalid by any court, the remainder of this initiative
to the extent that it can be given effect, or the application of such provision to persons or
circumstances other than those as to which it is held invalid, shall not be affected thereby,
and to this end the provisions of this initiative are severable.
VI. If any rival or conflicting initiative regulating any matter addressed by this initiative
receives the higher affirmative vote, then all non-conflicting parts of this initiative shall
become operative.
VII. Purpose of Initiative: Construction.
This initiative is an exercise of the powers of the Alaskan citizenry for the promotion and
protection of the safety, welfare, health and privacy of the people, and the environment of the
State, to allow for the industrial and medicinal type uses of hemp, to eliminate the evils
associated with an illicit market for cannabis, and to promote temperance in the consumption of
cannabis. It is hereby declared that the subject matter of this initiative involves in the
highest degree, the economic, social, environmental and moral well-being and the safety of the
citizens of Alaska and the State. All provisions of this initiative shall be generously
interpreted for the accomplishment of these purposes.
VIII. Effective Date.
This initiative shall be effective when enacted according to law.