Preechr
Sep 20th, 2004, 05:36 PM
Alaska Supreme Court OK's marijuana use
Juneau, AK, Sep. 15 (UPI) -- The state Supreme Court has affirmed the rights of Alaskan adults to possess four ounces of marijuana for personal use in the home.
The ruling lets stand a Court of Appeals' August 2003 decision that determined a ballot initiative passed by voters in 1990 outlawing any amount of the drug to be unconstitutional. Unlike the U.S. constitution, the Alaska Constitution explicitly prohibits government interference in residents' privacy, and the state's high court ruled in 1975's Ravin v. State that home use of small amounts of marijuana does not pose any social harm that warrants a violation of that privacy.
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.
Juneau, AK, Sep. 15 (UPI) -- The state Supreme Court has affirmed the rights of Alaskan adults to possess four ounces of marijuana for personal use in the home.
The ruling lets stand a Court of Appeals' August 2003 decision that determined a ballot initiative passed by voters in 1990 outlawing any amount of the drug to be unconstitutional. Unlike the U.S. constitution, the Alaska Constitution explicitly prohibits government interference in residents' privacy, and the state's high court ruled in 1975's Ravin v. State that home use of small amounts of marijuana does not pose any social harm that warrants a violation of that privacy.
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.