[I.M. Boggled]

Court chooses privacy over pot

It virtually prohibits us from getting search warrants to investigate marijuana home-growing cases," Renkes said. "The court's saying we have to have evidence to the amount of marijuana in the operation."

"Alaska clearly has values of independence and responsibility and fairness that are different than the rest of the country,"..."Clearly marijuana prohibition doesn't work, everyone knows that and it's time to try and find a different way."

The Alaska Supreme Court denied on Thursday a petition by the state attorney general's office seeking reconsideration of a decision allowing personal marijuana in the home.

The Supreme Court upheld last year's Court of Appeal unanimous ruling in Noy v. State of Alaska that solidified the argument a person's constitutional right to privacy is greater than a voter initiative making marijuana illegal.

The Court of Appeals decision was based largely upon a controversial 1975 Alaska Supreme Court opinion handed down in Ravin v. State allowing adults to possess marijuana for personal use in their home.

In 1990, voters passed an initiative on a 55 to 44 percent tally making it illegal to possess any amount of marijuana, but last year the appeals court not only ruled voters didn't have the authority to change the state constitution, but defined 4 ounces or less of marijuana as permissible for personal use at home.

"Noy basically restored Ravin and reaffirmed the right to privacy," said attorney Bill Satterberg, who filed the appeal. "People don't realize the purpose of the court is to protect the minority from the tyranny of the majority."

The ruling closes a case that began when North Pole police and drug agents arrested David Noy at his Parkway Road house July 27, 2001.

A North Pole police officer contended he detected the smell of marijuana emitting from Noy's house while Noy and a group of people were outside barbecuing salmon. Law enforcement searched the residence and found five live pot plants, growing equipment, some loose marijuana and paraphernalia, according to court documents.

A jury convicted Noy of misdemeanor sixth-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance and Satterberg appealed the conviction, paving the way to proving Alaska has some of the most liberal marijuana laws and strongest right to privacy sentiments in the nation.

"I'm certainly encouraged that we've recognized we're dealing with constitutional right regardless of your personal preferences," Satterberg said. "I'm glad to see the court not succumb to political pressure."

But that may be the next step Attorney General Gregg Renkes takes.

"We're not giving up," Renkes said.

He'll be taking his case to the legislature where he'll try to prove marijuana is a harmful enough drug to warrant amending the constitution.

"The state has been denied an opportunity to present a record of the harmfulness of marijuana," Renkes said. "The exception of privacy at home does not extend to cocaine because the state has proven it's harmful. It outweighs the right to privacy."

Renkes said marijuana has an increased potency compared to almost 30 years ago when the Ravin case was decided, making it more addictive and more susceptible to be an avenue to harder drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamines--highly addictive drugs that in many cases produce extreme, violent behavior.

"I'm really appalled that it appears some people are still fighting the culture war of the 1970s," he said.

He's also disappointed the Supreme Court took eight months to decide and didn't give an explanation why he won't get the chance to prove his case in court when it issued its brief denial.

"To me it's all about the kids and what kind of message we're sending to our kids," Renkes said.

Last year's appeals court decision also gave numerous defendants and lawyers another case to cite besides the Ravin case when fighting to dismiss drug charges.

It has already been used in a Homer man's argument his home was illegally searched just because law enforcement detected the smell of marijuana coming from his house.

Leo Crocker Jr. argued his home should have not been searched because police couldn't adequately prove he had more than the amount allowed for personal use--4 ounces--in his home when they served a warrant and discovered a grow operation.

The felony drug charges of against Crocker were dropped when the court decided to suppress the evidence obtained with the search warrant.

The appeals court upheld the court's decision Aug. 27, but Renkes foresees asking the supreme court to take a look at this ruing as well.

"It virtually prohibits us from getting search warrants to investigate marijuana home-growing cases," Renkes said. "The court's saying we have to have evidence to the amount of marijuana in the operation."

It may be a moot point if voters pass a ballot initiative Nov. 2 making it legal for adults over the age of 21 to possess marijuana whether for consumption or distribution.

This initiative, according to its chief architect Tim Hinterberger, is a more streamlined version of one that was defeated in 2000.

"This initiative specially calls on legislature to regulate marijuana like alcohol," said Hinterberger, an associate professor of the biomedical program at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

The Cannabis Decriminalization and Regulation Act opens the door for legislature to levy taxes and potentially providing revenue for the state, Hinterberger said.

"Alaska clearly has values of independence and responsibility and fairness that are different than the rest of the country," he said. "Clearly marijuana prohibition doesn't work, everyone knows that and it's time to try and find a different way."

Renkes said if Ballot Initiative No. 2 passes, it sends the wrong message to residents and specifically children in a state that already has a high rate of substance abuse.

"In a state that has the highest addiction rates in the country and spends more money in the country on drug prevention," Renkes said, "The last thing Alaskans can afford is permissive drug use."

Article Published:
September 14, 2004
Fairbanks news-miner



Attorney General Gregg Renkes told the Anchorage Daily News he agreed the personal-use allowance is now the law, saying "I respect and will abide by" the decision.

But Alaska ACLU attorney Jason Brandeis warned residents marijuana possession is still a federal offense.

"The feds can break into your house if you have an ounce of marijuana, and you can be charged federally," he said.

Alaska is the 12th state to decriminalize the personal use of the drug.

[bartender187]

"People don't realize the purpose of the court is to protect the minority from the tyranny of the majority."

Thats something that is often skewed.. but im glad to see its finally being put to good use.

bartender187

[I.M. Boggled]

FYI:
Every year thousands of people inquire about working and living in Alaska.
This [Link] is a short guide to job opportunities in Alaska.
Alaska has adequate numbers of qualified people to fill most jobs.

Finding work in Alaska

Where the jobs are: At the turn of the century in Alaska, most job opportunities are in the services sector, (where average wages are relatively low.) Hotels and lodging places, amusement and recreation services, business and social services, and health care are pacesetters in expected services job growth. Recruitment is active for seasonal summer seafood processing jobs. In the summer, there are labor shortages in some occupations. In Anchorage, the transportation sector is growing. There are opportunities for teachers, (especially with certain specialties) in the rural villages, known as "the bush." Many openings are for seasonal employment.

And where they are not: Due to falling production, oil and gas industry employers have been laying off workers, and further layoffs are expected. Employment in state and local government is in a downward trend. Mining companies have been curtailing operations. Urban school districts have more teacher applicants than positions and rarely hire from out of state. The timber industry is much reduced from earlier years. There is no factory work in Alaska. The fishing industry has experienced dramatic declines in harvests in some species and areas. Competition for federal jobs is keen...

[cooked cook]

there's ALWAYS work for a chef

[AKgrower]

thanks I.M. boggled. Alaska has a liberal population and the courts have reflected that as of late. We are still plagued by conservative republicans that hold offices. Gov. Murkowski is a corrupt power hungry person who would rip Alaska, its animals, lands, and residents to fatten his pockets. He was senator before being elected( I din't vote for him)gov. and passed his position onto his daughter. So now we have two of them in power.AHHHH!

Alaska is a beautiful state that everyone should visit. so come on up and burn one down legally.peace AK

[I.M. Boggled]

The Alaska Supreme Court reaffirmed its groundbreaking 1975 decision barring the state from criminalizing the possession of up to four ounces of marijuana in the privacy of one's home on September 9, when it denied a petition from state Attorney General Greg Renkes asking it to overturn a Court of Appeals ruling from a little more than a year ago. In that case, Noy v. Alaska, the Court of Appeals relied on the state Supreme Court's 1975 ruling in Ravin v. Alaska (https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/301/alaska.shtml).

Although the state Supreme Court had held in Ravin that the state could not penalize the possession of up to four ounces at home, Alaskans voted in 1990 for an initiative making it illegal to possess any quantity of marijuana. That situation obtained until challenged by David Noy, a North Pole resident who was found guilty of a sixth-degree misdemeanor after police searched his home and found five pot plants. In Noy, the appeals court held that voters could not overturn the Ravin decision and any law criminalizing home possession for personal use was invalid.

"Noy basically restored Ravin and reaffirmed the right to privacy," said attorney Bill Satterberg, who filed the appeal. "People don't realize the purpose of the court is to protect the minority from the tyranny of the majority," he told the Associated Press. "I'm certainly encouraged that we've recognized we're dealing with constitutional right regardless of your personal preferences," Satterberg said. "I'm glad to see the court not succumb to political pressure."

But more political pressure could be coming. Attorney General Renkes has vowed to soldier on. "We're not giving up," Renkes said. He added that he will try to convince the state legislature that marijuana is so harmful it should approve a constitutional amendment allowing the state to ban it. It's more powerful and it's a gateway drug, he argued.

"I'm really appalled that it appears some people are still fighting the culture war of the 1970s," Renkes said as he continued to fight the culture war of the 1970s. "To me it's all about the kids and what kind of message we're sending to our kids," he added.

Alaska voters have a chance to make it a moot point in November --an initiative on the ballot, if successful will give the voters' stamp of approval not only to home possession, but for regulated cultivation and distribution as well. Read about the initiative, the Cannabis Decriminalization and Regulation Act at https://www.alaskahemp.org/initiativetext.htm

9/17/04
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/354/yes.shtml

WoW, Great post. Hope they keep moving forward and that asshole get beat by the voters.
Thanks for the post. Love hearing stuff about Alaska

[sunnyside]

Weather Summary for Alaska: Temperatures usually remain below the freezing point for most of the year, with daily maximums reaching higher than 32°F an average of 110 days per year. Freezing temperatures have been observed every month of the year. February is generally the coldest month. March temperatures are warmer than those observed in the other winter months, and in April, temperatures begin a general upward trend. May is a definite transitional period, and July is the warmest month of the year. During late July or early August, the Arctic Ocean usually becomes ice-free for the summer. High readings of 70°F or above have occurred on rare occasions. The end of the short summer is reached in September

[I.M. Boggled]

in Fairbanks Alaska anyways
The secret to success(to keeping warm) is to dress in layers.
Minnesota's winters (as a boy) were downright "Balmy" compared to what Alaska's weather would be.
Fairbanks Weather History

[Double Kindness]

Wow, reading this makes me want to move back to Fairbanks and grow there. My daughter who is now over the age of 18 lives there and I grew up there, in fact, I learned how to first grow marijuana in Fairbanks when I was 9 years old, before I even knew what it was. Of course I haven't been there for 14 years or so, so I'm sure some things have changed.

Currently I'm in Colorado and the mmj laws are changing almost daily here and not for the better, the gov't needs to butt out of our mmj business and not regulate it to freaking death, which is what they are tying to do, it totally sucks.