The 1975 decision by the state's highest court holds that residents can possess up to four ounces of marijuana for use in their homes; bills introduced in the state legislature last year and again this year seek to make possession of under four ounces of the drug a misdemeanor and possession of more than four ounces a felony. The measure stalled in the legislature last year despite strong support from Gov. Frank Murkowski.

Murkowski and others argue that the dangers of marijuana use -- including reports that the drug has become more potent -- give lawmakers leeway to make possession a crime despite the Supreme Court ruling, which was made on privacy grounds. "This bill reflects what is currently known about marijuana," said chief assistant attorney general Dean Guaneli. "A lot has changed in the last 30 years."

The latest version of the bill eases penalties somewhat compared to last year's measure; residents in possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, for example, would face a fine rather than prison for their first two offenses.

But critics say that lawmakers should be targeting traffickers, not individual users. "There is no increase (in the bill) in penalties for those with more than a pound available," said Michael Macleod-Ball, executive director of the Alaska Civil Liberties Union, who told lawmakers: "Those are the commercial growers, and those are the ones you should be looking at."

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