PHOTO: Alaska's frontier spirit has always leaned towards a hands-off policy in regards to government regulation. (Photo by David Cogswell)
Tourists who would like to enjoy smoking marijuana on their vacations without fear of legal consequences just got another state on the list of places where that is possible.
As of Tuesday, Feb. 24, Alaska is the third state in the U.S. to legalize marijuana for recreational use. The terms of a referendum that passed last November with a margin of 53.2 percent have now gone into effect.
Under the new laws, people 21 years old or older can possess up to an ounce of marijuana and can grow, transport, process and display it. But until the appropriate regulatory system has been put in place, it is still not legal to sell it. Eventually the law provides for the establishment of cannabis stores.
Under Alaskan law it is still illegal to possess more than an ounce of pot, or to cultivate more than four ounces at home. Driving under the influence is still illegal and smoking in public is also forbidden.
Medicinal marijuana has been legal in Alaska since 1998. Possession was decriminalized in 1975.
Under federal law possession of cannabis is still a crime anywhere in the U.S.
The new law makes Alaska the third state to make it legal to use marijuana for pleasure.
Voters in Oregon and Washington D.C. also voted to legalize recreational pot use. In Washington, D.C. the measure, which was approved by a majority of 64.9 percent, was blocked by action from the U.S. Congress.
In Oregon, sales will become legal July 1.
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