A citizens' group hoping to make Alaska the third US state to legalise recreational use of marijuana has taken a step closer, submitting more than 46,000 signatures to the state election office.
If enough of the signatures are deemed valid, the question of whether to legalise pot in the country's northernmost state will appear on the August 19 primary ballot.
Signatures must come from at least 7 per cent of voters in at least 30 House districts.
If ultimately approved, Alaska would become the third US state to legalise marijuana, following voter initiatives last year in Colorado and Washington.
Organisers only need about 30,000 signatures to get the issue before voters but wanted to submit more than that to cover any challenges.
State officials have 60 days to verify there are enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot.
The state has a complicated relationship with marijuana.
The Alaska Supreme Court ruled in 1975 that banning home use and possession of small amounts of marijuana violated a constitutional right to privacy.
Since then, activists and others have battled over the law and its implications.
The 1975 decision did not mention a specific amount one could possess, but in 1982 the Alaska Legislature determined less than 113 grams was fine unless there was evidence of sales or distribution.
That amount was later reduced to 28 grams.
The law remains murky.
In 2006, the Alaska Legislature passed a law re-criminalising small amounts of pot at home.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska challenged the law on privacy grounds and won in Superior Court.
But the state appealed to the Alaska Supreme Court, which threw out the lower court decision but didn't clarify the conflict with the earlier law.
This initiative, supporters say, will bring Alaska's statute into accordance with the 1975 Supreme Court decision and the 1982 possession of 113 grams.
No formal opposition has formed to the proposed initiative.
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