Alaska Senate Refuses to Hear Measure on Marijuana Policy

By Becky Bohrer

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska Senate was supposed to consider a measure Wednesday saying the federal government’s new enforcement policy on marijuana is an affront to Alaska voters, who voted to legalize recreational use.

Instead, a member of the Republican-led Senate majority offered something quite different.

The Senate refused to consider Senate Minority Leader Berta Gardner’s proposal, which was a response to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinding Obama-era guidance that allowed legalized marijuana to flourish by limiting federal enforcement.

Sessions axed that directive in January, leaving it to U.S. attorneys to decide how proactive they’d be in enforcing federal marijuana laws. Marijuana is illegal at the federal level.

The resolution was from the Senate Judiciary Committee. The committee’s chairman, John Coghill, says the Obama-era guidance was not letting federal law be enforced