Opinions

Frank Murkowski's attack on legalization made of smoke and mirrors

After reading former Sen. Frank Murkowski's opinion piece on Ballot Measure 2 I was struck by the lack of understanding of many of the issues involved. His misconceptions are summarized most eloquently in his second paragraph: "It reminds me of the herd mentality of the lemmings stampeding off the cliff with little thought to the consequences."

That is a good line – except it is a lie. The lemmings jumping off a cliff was staged by photographers looking for a good story with no regard for the truth. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has this to say about the incident, "The epic 'lemming migration' was staged using careful editing, tight camera angles and a few dozen lemmings running on (a) snow covered lazy-Susan style turntable."

This type of lie, the one that sounds good, endures while the truth struggles on. Murkowski asks us about the impact on our children. Rather than look into the truth, he is appealing to our feelings and what we think the answer will be. The truth of the matter is that teen cannabis use in Colorado has apparently dropped since it has been legalized. Ballot Measure 2 does not legalize cannabis use for children but for adults 21 years and older who can decide for themselves how to live their lives. Drug dealers do not check IDs, but licensed and regulated stores do.

Murkowski uses scare words like "Outside money" when he disagrees with the issue however he was not decrying this same "Outside money" when he accepted campaign donations from Chevron, Pinnacle West Capital, BP, and others. When multi-billion-dollar companies wanted to support him, he accepted their help with open arms. However, when two nonprofit organizations are working for the people of Alaska, he suddenly has a change of heart about "Outside money."

I can't help but feel that as a life-long politician, he thinks Alaskans are lost without people like him telling them what to do. Murkowski used to be for a small government that didn't interfere in the lives of its citizens. Now he is telling Alaskans that they are helpless without government stepping in and telling them what do to with their own lives. U.S. citizens should be seeking more freedoms rather than submitting to the authoritarian will of an ever-expanding government.

Murkowski is ignoring the nation's own history of failure in the prohibition of alcohol. Prohibition enriched ruthless criminals such as Al Capone and did nothing to stem the flow of alcohol, while making otherwise innocent citizens into criminals. Instead of being taxed and regulated, bootleggers were violently fighting for territory. Consumers were forced into dealing with criminals and buying a product that was often poisonous due to the lack of oversight. The U.S.-Mexico border is rife with cartel violence, and according to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy more than 60 percent of drug cartel income in 2006 came from cannabis sold in the U.S.

Mark Twain once said "History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme."

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The former senator and governor believes in pushing half-truths on Alaskans and hopes we'll run off a cliff and vote "no" without evaluating the truth. I believe Alaskans are not so easily goaded. A regulated cannabis market will create local jobs, tax revenue, increase our personal freedom, reduce the amount of money going to criminals, and will help move cannabis out of the hands of youth by putting it into the hands of licensed local business owners.

David Phifer has lived in Alaska for over 25 years and is married with one child. He works as a financial examiner and enjoys playing games with friends and shooting at the rifle range.

The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com.

David Phifer

David Phifer has lived in Alaska for over 25 years and is married with one child. He works as a financial examiner and enjoys playing games with friends and shooting at the rifle range.

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