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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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US AK: Poll Pans Pot
ccguide Thursday 05 Oct 2000 Pubdate: Thu, 05 Oct 2000 Source: Anchorage Daily News (AK) Copyright: 2000 The Anchorage Daily News Contact: Website: http://www.adn.com/ POLL PANS POT But Tax Cap A Closer Bet Juneau -- More than 60 percent of Alaskans surveyed in a recent poll oppose a ballot measure that would legalize marijuana and other hemp products, while 48 percent say they plan to vote against the property tax cap. The results of the Alaska Poll conducted by Dittman Research of Anchorage indicate less support for the marijuana initiative than its supporters had claimed and a continued decline in support for the statewide property tax initiative. Of the 518 Alaska residents surveyed, 61 percent opposed the marijuana measure, which would not only legalize pot and other hemp products but provide amnesty and possible restitution for people convicted of marijuana-related crimes in the past. Thirty-five percent favored the measure, with 6 percent undecided. The poll taken between Sept. 21 and Oct. 1 has a sampling error of 4 percent. On the property tax cap, only 39 percent of poll respondents said they would vote for the initiative, while 13 percent were undecided. The initiative would prevent municipalities from taxing at a rate higher than 1 percent, or $1,000 on a $100,000 house. It would also freeze assessments, allowing them to rise no more than 2 percent a year for inflation. Property would be reassessed to market value when sold or "newly constructed." If the marijuana measure becomes law, pot would be regulated like alcohol and anyone 18 or older could smoke it. Until 10 years ago, Alaskans were allowed to have small amounts of marijuana by a 1975 Alaska Supreme Court ruling. In 1990, voters recriminalized pot. Alaskans voted to legalize marijuana for medical use two years ago. But this year's sweeping legalization package appears to be in trouble. "I think they overreached," Dave Dittman, president of Dittman Research, pointing to the provisions allowing pot use by 18 year olds and giving amnesty to marijuana criminals. "Those are pretty scary things to a lot of people." Among groups in the survey, only those aged 18 to 24 favored the measure. In that group, 60 percent said they would vote for the initiative. Sil De Chellis of Free Hemp in Alaska, one of four groups backing the measure, said the organization's own polls showed the measure with more than 50 percent support. However, he would not disclose details. He defended the measure's amnesty provisions, calling them reasonable elements of a campaign aimed at ending a failed and expensive war on pot users. "The prisoners of war get to come home when the war's over," De Chellis said. Wev Shea, a former U.S. Attorney and a leader of the campaign against the marijuana initiative, was cautiously optimistic about the poll result. "It's a good indication that the voters are becoming educated," Shea said. "The main thing that concerns me about this thing is that the word isn't getting out." Opponents of the tax cap were also pleased with the survey, which showed greater opposition to the initiative than a similar poll Dittman conducted for a private client a month ago that showed the two sides in a statistical dead heat. Dittman provided the results of that survey to Alaskans United Against the Cap and helped interpret them. However, both the campaign and the pollster said they have no financial relationship. Ira Perman, campaign coordinator for the group, said the survey validates the campaign's strategy of using frequent public presentations to highlight the cap's potential impact. Opponents argue that the lost taxes would devastate education, cut into essential services and damage the economy. The cap has received intense attention in Anchorage from the news media. Anchorage residents in the poll showed the strongest opposition, with 57 percent saying they would vote no. "That part of the state that's had the most opportunity to look at it is most strongly opposed to it," Perman said. Poll respondents in the Fairbanks area and Southeast Alaska favored the cap. In Fairbanks, 47 percent said they would vote yes, with 42 percent opposed. Southeast residents favored the proposal 45 percent to 39 percent. Uwe Kalenka, one of the tax cap initiative's sponsors, dismissed the poll results as irrelevant. "Quite frankly, we don't give much credence to the polls," Kalenka said. "The only one that counts is on Nov. 8th." Sponsors of the initiative say it would impose discipline on local budgets and reduce the burden on homeowners for funding government. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D
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