Alaska voters pass Ballot Measure 2 (53.23% Yes) to legalize and regulate adult-use cannabis
On November 4, 2014, Alaska voters approved Ballot Measure 2 by 53.23% to 46.77%, legalizing commercial cannabis sales nearly forty years after the Alaska Supreme Court's landmark Ravin privacy ruling.
On November 4, 2014, Alaska voters approved Ballot Measure 2—An Act to Tax and Regulate the Production, Sale, and Use of Marijuana—by a vote of 53.23% Yes (149,021 votes) to 46.77% No (130,924 votes), making Alaska the third state (alongside Oregon on the same night) to legalize commercial adult-use cannabis.
From the 1975 Ravin privacy ruling to Measure 2
Alaska has one of the most unique cannabis legal histories in the United States. In May 1975, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled in Ravin v. State that the explicit right-to-privacy clause in the Alaska Constitution protected adults possessing small amounts of cannabis inside their own homes. Although voters briefly recriminalized possession in 1990 before Alaska courts reaffirmed Ravin, there was no legal way to buy cannabis—until Ballot Measure 2 passed in November 2014.
What Measure 2 legalized in Alaska
Taking effect on February 24, 2015, Measure 2 established the Marijuana Control Board and legalized:
- Public possession: Up to 1 ounce of usable cannabis flower (or 7 grams of concentrate) outside the home for adults 21 and older.
- Home cultivation: Up to 6 cannabis plants per adult (with no more than 3 mature, flowering plants at one time), and up to 12 total plants (6 flowering) in a household with two or more adults 21+.
- Retail launch & on-site consumption lounges: Alaska’s first licensed retail store (Herbal Outfitters in Valdez) opened on October 29, 2016. In 2019, Alaska also became the first state in the nation to approve statewide regulations allowing licensed cannabis retail stores to operate dedicated on-site consumption lounges.
Originally reported by Alaska Division of Elections
Sources (2)
- Alaska Division of Elections, Official Results — November 4, 2014 General Election (Ballot Measure 2: 149,021 Yes / 53.23% to 130,924 No / 46.77%). https://ballotpedia.org/Alaska_Marijuana_Legalization,_Ballot_Measure_2_(2014)
- Ravin v. State, 537 P.2d 494 (Alaska 1975), holding that the Alaska Constitution's privacy clause protects adult possession of small amounts of cannabis in the home.
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