Denali Smoke
Mission Statement
Denali Smoke is an effort to chronicle and comment on the development of regulations governing the recent legalization of marijuana in Alaska. Already, less than three weeks after the people of Alaska voted to legalize marijuana, various factions have started trying to limit Alaskans’ newly won freedoms.
The University of Alaska has announced students will not be allowed to possess marijuana on campus. State legislators have announced bills that would further limit Alaskans’ right to possess marijuana in public. The U.S. Coast Guard has stated that marijuana is still illegal on Alaska’s waterways and will be confiscated and the owners may be prosecuted when they find it. The Alaska State Troopers are still writing citations and confiscating any marijuana they find. Three members of the Anchorage Assembly have introduced an ordinance seeking to outlaw commercial sale and distribution in our state’s largest city.
Opponents of Alaska’s attempt to regulate marijuana like alcohol are not giving up nor backing down, instead they have gone on the offensive. Alaskans, those who use marijuana and those who believe in individual liberty want to see the law implemented the way it was written will need to stay informed and involved as the regulations are developed and implemented. Denali Smoke is an effort to help that happen.
No newspaper or blog ever written has been unbiased and so this one will not be either. Every journalist has an agenda, to expect otherwise is an exercise in naivety. In the case of Denali Smoke, the agenda is to shed light on the implementation of Alaska’s new marijuana law as honestly as we can while guarding our rights as an Alaskan.
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