Not Your Father's Marijuana (Because Surely He Has Smoked His Old Stash By Now)

The Drug War Chronicle reports that a bill to recriminalize marijuana possession in Alaska is moving fast through the state legislature, pushed by Gov. Frank Murkowski. But since private possession of up to four ounces is legal in Alaska as a result of the state Supreme Court's interpretation of the state constitution's privacy clause, simply passing the legislation won't be enough to let police start rounding up marijuana users. Given the cost-benefit analysis underlying the marijuana ruling, Murkowski and his allies will have to convince the Supreme Court that marijuana is either more dangerous than it used to be or more dangerous that we used to think, such that the costs of extra marijuana use that can be attributed to Alaska's relative tolerance outweigh the costs of arresting pot smokers.