Rational Candidates on the Alaska Ballot

As we blogged earlier, incumbent Alaska governor and avowed prohibitionist Frank Murkowski was defeated in last month's Republican primary election. In one article, the two major party nominees seeking to replace Murkowski shared their positions on the marijuana issue.

Key quote:

[Republican nominee Sarah] Palin doesn't support legalizing marijuana .... But when it comes to cracking down on drugs, she says methamphetamines are the greater threat and should have a higher priority. Palin said she has smoked marijuana -- remember, it was legal under state law, she said, even if illegal under U.S. law -- but says she didn't like it and doesn't smoke it now.

"I can't claim a Bill Clinton and say that I never inhaled."

So, Palin does not currently use marijuana -- but she has tried it in the past. Was Palin's life destroyed by using marijuana? Did she become a hard drug user? Nope. She's led a successful life in public service in Alaska. Another perfect example of why the so-called "gateway theory" is a myth. And unlike our nation's drug czar -- who has been criticized for focusing too much on marijuana and not enough on hard drugs -- Palin recognizes the threats to Alaskans posed by methamphetamine.

And the Democratic nominee?

Key quote:

[Democratic nominee Tony] Knowles said he supports the constitutional right to privacy that protects a small amount of marijuana in private homes, and said the state has better ways to spend its public safety money.

"We have an urgent need to use public safety resources for the meth labs that we know are out of control, the gang violence in urban areas and for rural villages that have no public safety service at all," he said.

Former Governor Knowles -- seeking to reclaim the governor's chair after four years on the sidelines -- supports Alaska's current state law allowing the possession of small amounts of marijuana in the privacy of one's home.

As opposed to the last four years under Frank Murkowski, it appears the people of Alaska will have a governor in 2007 with distinctly more rational views on marijuana policy.