Alaska Laws and Programs

Alaska is a state where conservative attitudes concerning drug and alcohol abuse have been tempered by strong libertarian views on the right to privacy against government intrusion. The State of Alaska regulates the manufacture, distribution, and use of stimulants, depressants, and hallucinogens with the potential for abuse or dependence. These substances are statutorily classified into six schedules based on abuse liability, toxicity, precursor status, medical utility, and linkages to crime. Schedule I, the most restrictive, is reserved for [Page 10]drugs (e.g., heroin, GHB) deemed the greatest risk to public safety. Schedule VI, the least restrictive, is reserved solely for marijuana, which is judged to pose the least risk to public safety.

The Alaska Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Enforcement (ABADE) leads the state's antidrug efforts, coordinating with other federal, state, and local agencies on interdiction, investigation and arrest of traffickers, and public education. The Board of Pharmacy is responsible for regulating the manufacture and distribution of controlled substances through legal channels. Pharmacists and wholesale distributors must obtain a board license, to be renewed biennially, to dispense controlled substances. The board is also responsible under a 2008 law for overseeing a prescription drug monitoring program to combat diversion; however, the program is not scheduled to become operational until 2011.

Methamphetamine precursor controls on retail sales of nonprescription pseudoephedrine, ephedrine, and phenylpropanolamine were introduced in 2006. The law places quantity and age restrictions on retail sales, mandates products to be stored behind the counter in blister-type packaging, and requires retailers to verify the purchaser's identity and maintain a logbook.