Pro-marijuana campaign has trouble finding public support in Juneau

Yes on 2 volunteer Ben Wilcox leaves a door hanger on a house a few days before election. (Photo by Lisa Phu/KTOO)
Yes on 2 volunteer Ben Wilcox leaves a door hanger on a house a few days before election. (Photo by Lisa Phu/KTOO)

Voters decide tomorrow whether Alaska should legalize and regulate the recreational use of marijuana, something Washington and Colorado have already done.

In the capital city, campaigns for both sides of the issue have been small, and the pro-legalization side is having a hard time finding public support.

On a rainy Thursday lunch hour, Norm Stamper and Ben Wilcox are walking around the Flats knocking on some doors. After a few empty houses, a woman answers the door.

“Hello. We’re here with the Yes on 2 campaign just handing out some literature and hoping to remind you to vote and if you have any questions or concerns with the initiative, we’d be happy to answer them,” Wilcox says.

“OK, well great,” the woman says.

“Do you support the initiative?” Stamper asks.

“I do actually,” she says.

Norm Stamper, retired Seattle police chief, spent a week in Alaska advocating for marijuana legalization. (Photo by Lisa Phu/KTOO)
Norm Stamper, a retired Seattle police chief, spent a week in Alaska advocating for marijuana legalization. (Photo by Lisa Phu/KTOO)

Stamper is a retired Seattle police chief, part of a non-profit organization of current and former police officers, lawyers and judges called Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.

Before Juneau, Stamper also visited Fairbanks and Anchorage, where he did some door knocking. Most people weren’t home, but he did talk to about a dozen people.

“We had only one no. The others were yeses or ‘I’m thinking about it.’ One described it as kind of a ticklish proposition,” Stamper says.

Wilcox is a volunteer with the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol. He’s been a bartender in Juneau for 20 years.

“I’ve never had a problem with anybody in my bar that I know is consuming marijuana. I can have that guy sit here for eight hours. This guy who’s drinking tequila – within two hours, he’s a problem,” Wilcox says.

Of the hundreds of campaign signs posted throughout the capital city, hardly any say, “Yes on 2.” The campaign doesn’t have any paid staff in Juneau. It has less than a handful of local volunteers. One of them says she can’t go public for fear of losing her state job.

Wilcox says fear stops a lot of people in Juneau from publicly supporting marijuana legalization.

“Unfortunately, people that I’ve talked to that I know consume, that I know partake in this substance are afraid to come out. They don’t want people in public to know this. They’re afraid,” Wilcox says.

Wilcox says there’s no backlash for people who oppose Ballot Measure 2.

“People that come out on the side for can lose their job. They can face harassment from police officers, they believe. Peers, family members, church. All those things can come back to bite them just for saying a positive thing on this front,” Wilcox says.

Except for a small office in Anchorage, Yes on 2 efforts around the state have been at a grassroots level. The same is true of The Big Marijuana. Big Mistake. Vote No on 2 campaign. Spokeswoman Hillary Walker says it has volunteers around the state, including a handful in Juneau.

“We have a coordinating committee spread all over the state that met weekly via teleconference. We had different outreach throughout the state with different volunteers manning that,” she says.

But as far as Walker knows, there’ve been no events in Juneau.

The Yes on 2 campaign has consisted of handing out signs and door hangings. When Wilcox does try to organize an event like a sign waving, hardly anyone shows up.

“For me, mostly it’s personal contact. Anybody I can talk to. Being a bartender in town, I know a lot of people visually,” Wilcox says.

While walking down West 12th Street knocking on doors, Wilcox comes across a man he’s served over the years.

“We’re doing some canvassing,” Stamper says.

“I may not be interested,” the man says.

“No?”

“What are you canvassing for?” the man asks.

“Yes on 2. Legalize and regulate marijuana like alcohol,” Wilcox says.

“No need to talk to me,” the man says, turning away.

“OK. Thank you for your time,” Stamper says.

“Enjoy your day,” Wilcox adds.

Wilcox and Stamper spent early Thursday evening at The Hangar on the Wharf hoping to talk to opponents of Ballot Measure 2. But Wilcox says the dozen or so people who did stop to talk had already voted or were planning to vote yes.

In the last hours before election day, Wilcox just hopes people will be more open about how they feel.

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