It is about to get a whole lot warmer up in Alaska now that you can legally light up. As of today, the northernmost state has become the third in the US to legalize recreational marijuana use.
There are still limits according to the legislation posted on the state website. It is still illegal to carry more than one ounce of marijuana on your person or harvest more than four ounces in your home.
Smoking marijuana in public or driving while high are still going to be penalized. Federal law still supersedes state's, so traveling with it outside of Alaska will be considered a federal crime with a Schedule 1 narcotic.
Colorado and Washington have already legalized recreational marijuana, with a number of female entrepreneurs dominating the industry, and 23 other states, as well as Washington D.C., possess decriminalized medical use. Alaska marks the first red state to approve a measure for legalized weed, in what is sure to be a strong push for other non-liberal areas to follow suit. One thing's for sure, the landscape of recreational marijuana use is changing, and with major elections coming up, we are sure to see more discussions about the future of state and federal legalization.
Image c/o Marijuana Policy Project via Twitter
Princess Weekes is a part-time bookseller and a full-time writer with a Master’s in English from Brooklyn College. A former intern at BUST magazine, she has since written articles for The Mary Sue, BUST and maintains her own video channel under the name Melina Pendulum, discussing the intersection of pop culture, feminism and race. She is currently working on a fantasy novel about black witches during the Jim Crow era, while attempting to purchase every liquid lipstick the world has to offer.
