Alaska

[budman]

Monday, June 5, 2006 - Page updated at 04:04 PM

ACLU sues Alaska over state's new marijuana law

By MATT VOLZ
The Seattle Times
The Associated Press

JUNEAU, Alaska — The American Civil Liberties Union sued the state of Alaska today over a new law penalizing marijuana possession for personal use in the home.

The civil liberties group alleges the new law is an unconstitutional invasion of privacy.

"Is marijuana so dangerous that it justifies restricting a fundamental right? The state thinks it's yes, we think it's no," said Michael Macleod-Ball, executive director of the ACLU of Alaska.

The lawsuit also claims the law allows prosecution of people who use marijuana for medical purposes, which the Alaska Department of Law disputes.

Along with the lawsuit, the ACLU is asking a Juneau Superior Court judge to block the law. Macleod-Ball said a hearing was not immediately set.

The law, which was signed by Gov. Frank Murkowski on Friday, is an attempt to reverse a 30-year-old Alaska Supreme Court decision called Ravin vs. Alaska in which the court ruled the privacy rights of Alaskans trumped the harm the drug could cause.

Later court decisions set a legal limit of 4 ounces that an individual can keep in the home.

Murkowski for the past two years has been pushing through a bill to counter that ruling, understanding that the final decision would be up to the courts.

Under the new law, pot possession of 4 ounces or more is a felony. Possession of 1-4 ounces is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail; less than 1 ounce is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail.

"The issue of marijuana appears destined to be resolved by the courts," said Department of Law spokesman Mark Morones. "Now that there's some science behind it, we know a lot more about it now and its potency now than when the Ravin decision was decided."

Gearing up for the court fight, Murkowski and the Legislature included in the bill a set of findings meant to prove that marijuana has increased in potency since the original Supreme Court decision, and therefore has become more dangerous.

Opponents submitted material supporting their position, but the material was never considered by the Legislature, nor did any of it end up in the findings, according to the lawsuit.

"There was all this sort of reefer madness stuff coming from the government, saying this is crazy and we've got to restrict this," Macleod-Ball said. "There was misinformation and disinformation because the state was trying to make a point that it's more dangerous."

Joining the ACLU as a plaintiff is an anonymous 54-year-old woman referred to as Jane Doe who uses marijuana to treat pain caused by a neurological illness called reflex sympathetic dystrophy, according to the lawsuit.

She and another plaintiff, a 42-year-old woman referred to as Jane Roe, won't list their real names because they fear criminal prosecution under the new law, the lawsuit says.

Jane Doe and the ACLU claim there is no exception under the new law for medical marijuana patients. Morones said medical marijuana users are protected under the new law and will not be affected.


<center>Copyright © 2006 The Seattle Times Company</center>

[budman]

Court hears pot-vs.-privacy pitches

RECRIMINALIZATION: ACLU seeks injunction; state backs recently enacted law.

The Alaska Daily News
By MATT VOLZ
The Associated Press

Published: July 6, 2006
Last Modified: July 6, 2006 at 03:03 AM


JUNEAU -- Attorneys for a civil liberties group argued Wednesday that a new state law recriminalizing marijuana usurps 30 years of Alaska Supreme Court right-to-privacy decisions and should be struck down.

Chief assistant attorney general Dean Guaneli countered that the law includes findings by the Legislature on the dangers of marijuana that were not considered when the court legalized possession of small amounts of the drug for personal use in the home.

Guaneli and the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska presented their arguments to Juneau Superior Court Judge Patricia Collins, whose courtroom is the first stop in the constitutional challenge to the new law tightening Alaska's liberal marijuana policy.

Both sides are asking Collins for a summary judgment ruling in their favor. In addition, the ACLU wants Collins to issue an injunction blocking the new law while the case is being decided, and the attorney general's office has asked the judge to dismiss the case.

Collins said she expects to issue a written order on those motions by Monday.

The law, which took effect June 3, makes marijuana possession of 4 ounces or more a felony. Possession of 1 to 4 ounces is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail; less than 1 ounce is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail.

The new law does not affect medical marijuana patients who are on the state's registry.

The law goes against state Supreme Court rulings that date back to 1975, when the court decided that the right to privacy in the home took precedence over possession of small amounts of marijuana. Later court decisions set the legal limit a person can possess in the home at 4 ounces.

Guaneli said much has changed in the last 30 years, including the potency of marijuana, which the legislative findings document. As an example, he said the findings show marijuana consumption by pregnant women in Alaska exceeds the national average -- 2.9 percent of women in the nation smoke marijuana while pregnant, but 5.1 percent do in Alaska. The numbers are even higher for pregnant teens and women in rural areas, he said.

"The facts have changed. The facts involving marijuana are different now," Guaneli said.

The ACLU has argued that many of the findings included in the bill are disputed and the Legislature did not consider other evidence to include in its findings.

"The state has certainly made a lot of assertions, and the assertions they have made are not backed up by credible scientific evidence," said ACLU attorney Jason Brandeis.

But disputing the Legislature's findings is not the issue here, he said.

Attorney Alyse Bertenthal of the ACLU's National Drug Law Reform Project in Santa Cruz, Calif., focused her argument to the judge on the importance the Alaska Supreme Court placed on the constitutional right to privacy in its past decisions.

She said allowing this law to stand would set a precedent allowing the state to pass unconstitutional laws whenever the Legislature claims the facts surrounding a disputed issue have changed.

"Our constitutional rights would essentially exist in a twilight zone," Bertenthal said.

Bertenthal also said a Superior Court judge cannot overturn the decision of the Supreme Court, and if Collins does not grant summary judgment in favor of the ACLU, the judge should issue an injunction blocking the law until the Supreme Court can decide the case.

Guaneli said the Legislature determined the facts through its findings, and the court's role is to determine whether those facts establish legitimate state concerns and address those concerns in a "close and substantial way."

[palmspringsbum]

Article Last Updated: 7/06/2006 12:12 PM


Judge hears arguments over new state marijuana law

Associated Press
KTVA

A Superior Court judge heard arguments Wednesday in a constitutional challenge of a new law to recriminalize marijuana possession in the home.

Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska say the law usurps 30 years of Alaska Supreme Court right-to-privacy decisions and should be struck down.

Chief Assistant Attorney General Dean Guaneli counters that the new law includes findings by the Legislature on the dangers of marijuana that were not considered when the court made its past decision.

Guaneli and the ACLU presented their arguments to Juneau Superior Court Judge Patricia Collins. Both sides are asking for Collins for a summary judgment ruling in their favor. In addition, the ACLU wants Collins to issue an injunction blocking the new law, while the case is being decided and the attorney general's office has asked the judge to dismiss the case. Collins said she expects to issue a written order on those motions by Monday.

The law took effect on June 3. It makes marijuana possession of 4 ounces or more a felony. Possession of 1 to 4 ounces is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail; less than 1 ounce is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail. The new law does not affect medical marijuana patients who are on the state's registry.