Matanuska-Susitna Borough Commercial Marijuana Ban Initiative (October 2016)
| Matanuska-Susitna Borough Commercial Marijuana Ban Initiative |
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| The basics |
| Election date: |
| October 4, 2016 |
| Status: |
 Defeated
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| Topic: |
| Marijuana |
| Related articles |
| Marijuana on the ballot October 4, 2016 ballot measures in Alaska Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska ballot measures |
| See also |
| Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska |
| Voting on Marijuana | |||
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| Ballot Measures | |||
| By state | |||
| By year | |||
| Not on ballot | |||
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An initiative to ban recreational marijuana businesses was on the ballot for voters in Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, on October 4, 2016. It was defeated.
Petitioners failed to submit signatures in time to put this measure on the ballot in 2015.[1]
| A "yes" vote was a vote in favor of prohibiting the operation of any recreational marijuana business within the unincorporated areas of Matanuska-Susitna Borough. |
| A "no" vote was a vote against this proposition, thereby leaving local marijuana laws unchanged. |
This initiative would not have applied within the boundaries of cities within the borough. Similar initiatives were filed in the cities of Palmer, Wasilla and Houston in 2015. The proposed initiatives reached the October 2015 election ballot in Palmer and Houston, but not in Wasilla. The ban was approved in Palmer but not in Houston.[2][3]
Election results
| Matanuska-Susitna Proposition B-1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| No | 10,508 | 54.72% | ||
| Yes | 8,694 | 45.28% | ||
- Election results from Matanuska-Susitna Borough Elections Office
Backgound
In 2014, Alaska voters approved Measure 2, legalizing recreational marijuana use according to state law.
According to Alaska Dispatch News writer Zaz Hollander, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough is "considered Alaska’s cannabis-growing capital." Voters in the borough were split almost equally when voting on Measure 2 in 2014, with opponents of legalization outnumbering supporters by a margin of less than 10 votes.[3]
Support
Supporters
Daniel Hamm and Sally Pollen, the president and an officer of the Alaskan Republican Assembly, respectively, signed up as the official sponsors of this initiative.[3]
Borough Mayor Larry DeVilbiss, who ran for re-election on October 6, 2015, supported this initiative. DeVilbiss was defeated by Vern Halter in 2015.[4]
Arguments in favor
Speaking of recreational marijuana use, Pollen said, “I’m sure the black market is alive and well. But I don’t think it’s right for a city or for the government to sanction something like that. … Just because it’s made inroads and people are actually doing it, I don’t feel it’s healthy for the community to say it’s OK.”[3]
| Voting on Marijuana | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Ballot Measures | |||
| By state | |||
| By year | |||
| Not on ballot | |||
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Opposition
Opponents of the initiative said legal marijuana sales would weaken the black market and increase revenue for the borough.[3]
Path to the ballot
Valid signatures equal to 15 percent of votes cast in the borough in its last general election needed to be collected to qualify the measure for the ballot in 2015. For the Mat-Su borough, this signature requirement amounted to 1,098 in 2015. Moreover, the signatures needed to be submitted early enough to provide 60 days between signature petition verification and the targeted election date. Petitioners missed the deadline to put the initiative before voters in 2015. Petitioners submitted enough signatures, however, by a deadline on September 8, 2015, to qualify the initiative for the ballot in 2016.[1][3][4]
Related measures
Statewide
Local
- Palmer, Alaska, Commercial Marijuana Ban Initiative, Proposition No. P-1 (October 2015)
- Houston, Alaska, Commercial Marijuana Ban Initiative, Proposition No. H-1 (October 2015)
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Matanuska-Susitna commercial marijuana ban initiative. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Local marijuana on the ballot
- Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska ballot measures
- October 4, 2016 ballot measures in Alaska
- October 6, 2015 ballot measures in Alaska
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Alaska Public Media, "Mat-Su takes up pot codes," Februay 3, 2016
- ↑ Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman, "Initiative would prohibit marijuana businesses," May 30, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Alaska Dispatch News, "Proposed Mat-Su ballot measures would ban commercial marijuana operations," June 11, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Alaska Dispatch News, "Mat-Su voters to weigh commercial pot bans in October," August 26, 2015
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