cannabisnews.com: Justices Uphold Right To Use Pot





Justices Uphold Right To Use Pot
Posted by CN Staff on September 15, 2004 at 07:55:15 PT
By Sheila Toomey, Anchorage Daily News
Source: Anchorage Daily News 
The Alaska Supreme Court has upheld the right of adult Alaskans to possess up to four ounces of marijuana in their homes for personal use. The high court accomplished this by letting stand a lower court opinion issued last year, which breathed life into a 1975 ruling thought by many to be obsolete.Attorney General Gregg Renkes and Fairbanks defense attorney Bill Satterberg agreed Tuesday that the four-ounce personal-use allowance is now indisputably the law, although it does not immunize Alaskans against federal drug statutes.
If this sounds like the end of the matter, don't be fooled. Alaskans have been arguing about marijuana for 30 years, and this is just the latest "final" ruling.The 1975 decision, known as Ravin v. State, concluded that Alaskans' constitutional right to privacy outweighs any social harm that might be caused by at-home use of small amounts of marijuana.The Alaska Constitution has a special guarantee of privacy from government interference, one not included in the federal Constitution. The Ravin decision says the right is not absolute but concludes the state has to jump some pretty high hurdles to justify interfering with what a person does to him or herself in his or her own home. The state failed to prove that possessing a small amount of marijuana for private, adult, at-home use justified such interference, the justices said nearly 30 years ago."The state cannot impose its own notions of morality, propriety, or fashion on individuals when the public has no legitimate interest in the affairs of those individuals," Ravin says.The decision expressed disapproval of marijuana use and upheld laws against the sale, distribution, driving under the influence, use by minors or use outside the home thereof."It is the responsibility of every individual to consider carefully the ramifications for himself and for those around him of using such substances. With the freedom which our society offers to each of us to order our lives as we see fit goes the duty to live responsibly," Ravin said. Snipped: Complete Article: http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/uphold.htmNewshawk: Shortpier Source: Anchorage Daily News (AK)Author: Sheila Toomey, Anchorage Daily NewsPublished: September 15, 2004Copyright: 2004 The Anchorage Daily News Contact: letters adn.com Website: http://www.adn.com/ Related Articles & Web Site:Alaska H.E.M.P.http://www.alaskahemp.org/Court Chooses Privacy Over Pothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19488.shtmlAlaska Court Narrows Marijuana Search Law http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19406.shtmlState Appeals Legal Pot Ruling http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18183.shtmlAlaskans to Vote on Pot Legalization in '04 http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18067.shtml
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Comment #5 posted by ekim on September 15, 2004 at 19:43:06 PT
Book a LEAP speaker:
Book a speaker:
Mike Smithson Speakers Bureau speakers leap.cc http://www.leap.cc/events/events.php
Sep 21 04 Benton Bay Athletic Lions Club 12:00 PM Howard Wooldridge Anchorage Alaska USA 
 Slipping on his running shoes, Board Member Howard Wooldridge visits the Benton Bay Athletic Lions Club to dispell the myths of America's drug war. Sep 22 04 Resurrection Bay Lions Club 12:00 PM Howard Wooldridge Seward Alaska USA 
 Bring to life the failures of America's war on drugs, Board Member Howard Wooldridge lunches with members of the Resurrection Bay Lions Club. Sep 23 04 Western Michigan University Drug Policy Symposium 09:00 AM Bill Masters Kalamazoo Michigan USA 
 LEAP Member and Sheriff Bill Masters will participate in an all day drug policy symposium with numerous guest speakers including the Rev. Edwin Sanders and Nora Callahan from the November Coalition. Sep 24 04 Anchorage Lions Club 12:00 PM Howard Wooldridge Anchorage Alaska USA 
 Growling despite the cold, Board Member Howard Wooldridge visits the Anchorage Lions Club to discuss viable alternatives to the failure of drug prohibition. Sep 25 04 Truth or Consequences, Drug War Prohibition 08:00 AM Earl Barnett Ashville North Carolina USA 
 No games played here when Earl Barnett visits the University of NC at Asheville to participate in Truth or Consequences: Drug War Prohibition. Sep 27 04 Billings Montana Rotary 12:00 PM Howard Wooldridge Billings Montana USA 
 None are more valuable than Board Member Howard Wooldridge as he returns to The Treasure State to lunch and discuss the failure of the war on drugs with the Billings Montana Rotary. Sep 28 04 Alaska Public Defenders Association's Annual Convention 06:00 PM Howard Wooldridge Anchorage Alaska USA 
 "North to Alaska" is Board Member Howard Wooldridge motto as he attends the Alaska Public Defenders Association's Annual Convention. Topic: the failure of drug prohibition. Sep 30 04 Anchorage South Rotary Club 12:00 PM Howard Wooldridge Anchorage Alaska USA 
 The Anchorage South Rotary Club welcomes Board Member Howard Wooldridge for lunch and discussion of alternatives to the failure of drug prohibition. Oct 15 04 Mabuhay Lions Club 07:00 PM Peter Christ Anchorage Alaska USA 
 The Mabuhay Lions Club welcomes Board Member Peter Christ for discussion of alternatives to America's failed war on drugs. 
http://www.aammi.org
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Comment #4 posted by sukoi on September 15, 2004 at 17:16:09 PT
Slaughter of the innocents
"We're going to try to write a law the Supreme Court would uphold," [Attorney General Gregg Renkes] said. "We're going to take a fairly methodical approach."Why not take it to the SCOTUS? Is this Attorney General afraid that he will lose and set a precedent?On another note, everyone should take a look at what their tax dollars are funding:Slaughter of the innocents
http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/3508.html
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Comment #3 posted by observer on September 15, 2004 at 11:05:46 PT
The Righeousness of the Drug Holy Warriors
"We're going to try to write a law the Supreme Court would uphold," [Attorney General Gregg Renkes] said. "We're going to take a fairly methodical approach."Did Alaskans elect/hire this prohibitionist to "WRITE" new laws to jail Alaskans for small amounts of cannabis, or did they hire him to enforce laws that exist? Notice the religious fervor that this rather typical prohibitionist is possessed of. The prohibitionist "just knows" (because, presumabably Jesus has put this knowledge into his heart,) that using any amount of marijuana for any reason is Sin. Thus it is ascribed to him as Righteousness, should he make any effort (no matter how illegal or dishonest or unethical) to jail marijuana users. Because marijuana use is Sin and Witchcraft; this is taken as a given. Besides, politicians (fat and corrupt with bribes of big pharma under their bloated belts), also "know" that any use of cannabis by adults must be countered by jailing the offending adults. Jailing adults for cannabis use, sing politician and bureaucrat and for-profit jailer and treatment "expert" and drug testing industry profiteer (tear in eye), is also needed to "save the children."With so many children "saved" by jailing and killing adult pot users over the years, those prohibitionists sure must be mighty Righteous, don't you think? 
The drug newsbot: get the latest, first. Automagically.
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on September 15, 2004 at 10:43:51 PT
Related Article from United Press International
Alaska Supreme Court OK's Marijuana UseJuneau, 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.Copyright 2004 United Press Internationalhttp://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20040915-122724-8721r.htm
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on September 15, 2004 at 09:00:28 PT
DPFCA: FW: Measure Z Kickoff this Sunday, 9/19/04 
From: Mikki Norris  
Dear Friends,This letter is written with great excitement to invite you to join our campaign to pass Measure Z, The Oakland Cannabis Initiative. Thanks to your hard work and support, our measure qualified for the ballot in early July, and we have already built a strong base of supporters that include prominent organizations such as the California Nurses Association, and elected leaders like Don Perata, California State Senate President Pro Tem, and Nate Miley, Alameda County Supervisor, District 4. All of this is due to the hard work of our volunteers and staff who truly believed we could change the backwards policy of the federal drug war. For that effort, we can't thank you enough!Now, it's time to roll up our sleeves and start campaigning to pass Measure Z! The nation is watching as Oakland takes a step forward in changing cannabis policy in a way never seen before. We must overcome organized opposition, including some prominent elected officials, who are engaging in a classic campaign of scare tactics and misinformation. This is why we need a strong campaign over the next two months to see that Oaklanders’ voices are heard.Please join us Sunday, September 19th at 3:00 for our Fall Campaign Kick-off. We'll discuss our campaign strategy and how we expect to win in November. After some light refreshments and socializing, we'll get on the phone to absentee voters!The kick-off will be at the Courthouse Grill located at 719 Washington St. in Old Town Oakland. If you plan on attending, either call me (510) 459-8444 or email me at joe yesonz.org . Thank you all who have gotten us this far, and I hope to see you on September 19th! With Winning in Mind,Joe DeVries -- Yes on Z Campaign Manager -- http://www.yesonz.org/P.S. Below is a partial list of our growing endorsementsOrganizations:Alameda County Democratic PartyAlameda County Green PartyCalifornia Nurses AssociationMedical Marijuana Patients UnionHuman Rights and the Drug WarAmericans for Safe AccessMetropolitan Greater Oakland Democratic ClubOakland East Bay Democratic ClubDrug Policy AllianceCalifornia NORMLCannabis Consumers CampaignMarijuana Policy ProjectFamily Council on Drug AwarenessCenter on Juvenile and Criminal JusticePolice Officers for Drug Law ReformElected Officials and Community Leaders:Hon. Don Perata, CA State Senate President Pro TemHon. John Vasconcellos, California State SenateHon. Nate Miley, Alameda County SupervisorHon. Keith Carson, Alameda County SupervisorHon. Nancy Nadel, Oakland City CouncilHon. Desley Brooks, Oakland City CouncilHon. Dan Siegel, Oakland School Board MemberJames P. Gray, Judge, California Superior CourtRebecca Kaplan, AC Transit Board MemberRev. Harold Mayberry, First African Methodist Episcopal Church (FAME)Martha Paul, Founder, Total Victory Recovery CenterWilson Riles, Former Oakland City Council MemberMember Toni Cooke, former Oakland School Board Member
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