Greater Ketchikan Chamber of Commerce
Board of Directors
Resolution to Oppose Ballot Measure 2

 

WHEREAS, ballot measure 2 would legalize recreational marijuana and all of its derivatives in the State of Alaska for adults 21 and over;

 

WHEREAS, the initiative defines marijuana broadly without the limits recently enacted in Colorado to broaden a ban on certain types of edible marijuana and set limits for concentrated forms of marijuana due to serious health and safety concerns;

 

WHEREAS, the use and delivery of marijuana is still a violation of federal law under the Controlled Substances Act;

 

WHEREAS, any workplace that receives federal funding or is subject to federal regulations requiring the testing of safety-sensitive workers must continue to consider marijuana a prohibited substance (Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988) because marijuana remains illegal under federal law;

 

WHEREAS, the legalization of marijuana is predicted to produce significant net economic costs to the State of Alaska;

 

WHEREAS, there is no uniform or scientifically valid test(s) that can be administered to determine how intoxicated someone is by marijuana;

 

WHEREAS, without appropriate standards and testing available, like there is for alcohol, there is no way to ensure workforce safety, readiness, and productivity;

 

WHEREAS, Alaska’s workers’ compensation costs are already the highest in the nation and there is no way to quantify or limit employer liability associated with legal marijuana use outside the workplace because testing and evaluation standards for determining the physiological states and an employee’s level of impairment do not exist.;

 

WHEREAS, the initiative does not give Alaska communities the ability to regulate cultivation, possession, consumption, and transportation of marijuana locally as many of them currently do with alcohol;

 

WHEREAS, legalization and increased use of marijuana may result in a diminished pool of trained job candidates;

 

WHEREAS, the initiative fails to regulate personal cultivation in a manner that ensures the commercialization of marijuana for the benefit of the Alaska economy;

 

BE IT RESOLVED THAT, we, the undersigned, oppose the passage of Ballot Measure 2 in the Alaska statewide general election on November 4th, 2014 and urge all Alaskans to vote “no” on 2.

Approved this _____ day of September, 2014

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nancy Christian, President                                         Chelsea Goucher, Executive Director