For anyone working in Alaska law enforcement, Feb. 24 should be circled in red on the calendar. That's the day recreational marijuana use becomes legal in Alaska, and officials are still piecing together how the voter initiative's mandates might play out for their agencies.
With less than two months remaining, there's still no shortage of unanswered questions.
"We're flying by the seat of our pants,"Anchorage Police Department Chief Mark Mew said.
Mew and Cynthia Franklin, director of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, which is overseeing implementation of the initiative, offered some insight into the challenges and changes law enforcement is confronting as the deadline approaches, and what citizens might be able to expect in the first months of legalization.
Public consumption tops list of concerns
Right now, APD's focus is on the short term -- the months between when the initiative goes into effect and when additional regulations are crafted. That's the time when APD will have "no additional guidance from the Legislature," Mew said.
One of the most pressing issues facing law enforcement is how public consumption will be handled. Come Feb. 24, people 21 and older can legally possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana. But they can't legally smoke it in public.
The initiative states that a person smoking pot in public is subject to a fine "up to" $100, but what will the actual fine be and what is the definition of "public"?
Officers need those aspects of the law defined before Feb. 24. Otherwise, Mew said, "we have the authority to enforce a law that doesn't exist."
Questions like these may need to be addressed by emergency regulations, Franklin said. Such regulations, temporary placeholders until final laws are ironed out, would offer guidance to law enforcement.
Local municipalities may also enact their own public consumption laws, Franklin said. The Municipality of Anchorage Department of Law is already working on it and has drafted an ordinance that would address these questions. The ordinance defines public use and proposes a fine of $100 -- the maximum allowable under the initiative and the same as the penalty for public consumption of alcohol.
Another factor to consider: If a person is caught smoking in public, the marijuana may be seized as contraband, Mew said. The same holds true for alcohol, which APD officers will seize if they find people drinking in public spaces, he said. Still, Mew stressed that at this stage, "nothing is set in stone."
Some activities still illegal
The Alaska Legislature convenes Jan. 20, and legislators have already stated intentions to introduce a variety of legislation related to marijuana. The public can expect pot to be a major topic this session.
The initiative mandates that regulations be in place by Nov. 24, 2015. But while the rules are ironed out, one thing is clear: Old statutes still apply for any marijuana activity that is not explicitly addressed under the initiative.
Between the time the initiative goes into effect and when new laws are crafted, "you can count on the fact that the law is going to be exactly the same," Franklin said.
For example, she said, if someone under 21 is found possessing marijuana, "they're going to be looking to the exact same statutes that they have on the books now."
Possessing and transporting more than 1 ounce of marijuana will also still be a crime, Mew said.
Black-market dealers will also still be acting criminally. "That's still a felony and we're still going to make marijuana cases, presumably," Mew said.
What shape the final regulations and laws will take is still up in the air. For instance, Franklin posited, will selling marijuana without a license entail a criminal penalty or a civil one?
Regulators face numerous questions like these going forward. "It's a whole new world," Franklin said.
APD and the ABC Board are two of many Alaska agencies sending representatives to an upcoming marijuana conference in Colorado hosted by the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police. Officials hope the conference will bring some clarity to what has worked and what has failed in the first state to legalize marijuana.
Fairbanks police chief Randall Aragon said he was deferring questions regarding upcoming enforcement until after the conference, which he hoped would provide insight into how public safety will function. Aragon said several members of his staff would be attending.
Alaska State Troopers declined to comment for this story. Spokesperson Beth Ipsen wrote that "it's still early in this effort and everything is still being worked on." She referred interested parties to the ABC Board's list of frequently asked questions about marijuana.
Meanwhile, at least for APD, numerous administrative changes are also on the horizon. New computer codes for offenses such as smoking in public need to be created, and the department's computer system for tracking marijuana offenses needs to be modified. Eventually, APD's code tables will need to add roughly two dozen new civil offenses mandated by the initiative.
"The devil's always in the details," Mew said.