cannabisnews.com: Proposition 2 Would Help Fight Alaska's Costly War





Proposition 2 Would Help Fight Alaska's Costly War
Posted by CN Staff on October 10, 2004 at 07:23:11 PT
By Dirk Nelson
Source: News-Miner 
In Attorney General Gregg Renkes' job performance, he personifies the wasting of limited state resources.Brought to Alaska from Washington, D.C. by Mr. Murkowski, and apparently unfamiliar with our laws, Mr. Renkes has repeatedly addressed the state's court system with incorrect arguments. He argued to the appellate court that Justice Rabinowitz, in the Ravin Decision, never intended for cannabis possession to be protected in the home. They knew better; Rabinowitz's findings are a matter of court record.
Renkes chastises groups for "coming from Outside to impact our way of life." Renkes, himself, is an outsider who undermines Alaska's sovereignty. From cases involving voter initiatives to the case of David Noy, Renkes has argued federal perspectives in state constitutional matters--inappropriate for anyone with an understanding of the courts. Renkes incorrectly insisted constitutional precedents could be overturned by initiative, ignoring decade-old Alaska Supreme Court records referencing Ravin as current law. We've paid financially and socially for his pretense and fallacy.And Alaska is now at a threshold.After 14 years of Alaskans with legal protections of privacy being subjected to armed home invasions, ironically by those who swore to uphold their rights, the Ravin Decision of 1975 has been reaffirmed by the Alaska Supreme Court. Renkes pretends surrender to what he already knew; Ravin is Alaska's law. But instead of upholding state law, as his oath prescribes, he threatens to pursue a constitutional amendment to modify our right to privacy.This November, Proposition 2 will appear on our ballots, proposing to legalize and regulate cannabis use for responsible adults.We'll be asked whether or not Alaskans should depart the failed path of supporting the wars on cannabis and responsible peaceful persons and move to a more mature system of self-determination and personal responsibility.I have several thoughts on this.I think it's important that this question not be answered as a matter of personal preferences. The question, instead, might be framed as one addressing whether or not I, as a person dependent on others' defense of my rights, have any legitimate business impacting or destroying my neighbor's life for living differently than I do; especially if I haven't been directly affected by their choices. To say that I may impact my neighbor, in that manner, contradicts everything I was taught about America in grade school.Some say legalization sends the wrong message to children. Those persons haven't fully considered their statements. There are many activities our children are prohibited from engaging in but which adults have a right to do responsibly, if not routinely.Responsible adults may drink alcohol, drive a motor vehicle, serve in the military, own and carry a gun, and vote. The last of these is sometimes done without great thought, despite its being perhaps the most potent of the group.Some argue legalization will result in loss of revenues from conflicts with the federal government. But the recent case of Stewart v. (United States) in Phoenix, Ariz., casts doubt upon federal jurisdiction. In Stewart, the court found that unless there is intent to sell, or actual commerce, the federal government has no jurisdiction. Similar arguments have quashed other overbearing federal laws. And the commerce section of Proposition 2 is not imminent but, rather, dependent upon the state Legislature and separable from the rest of the initiative.Mr. Renkes points to engineered statistics and states that Alaska has the greatest per capita spending for drug treatment and highest level of drug abuse in the country. In that statement, he admits the failures of his own approaches and programs: they don't work.Lastly, opponents of Proposition 2 say a regulated market won't reduce underage cannabis use. They omit the obvious reasons why it would achieve exactly that, and they ignore their own family household surveys, which state that adolescents currently find it easier to procure cannabis than alcohol. And in a regulated market, an adult, legally in possession of cannabis, witnessing minors engaging in illegal possession, is more apt to take steps of intervention. In Renkes' system, they are less likely, due to their own legal vulnerability.The reasons to oppose Proposition 2 include unfounded fears resulting from propaganda, fallacy, lack of personal boundaries, opposition to personal freedom, continued squandering of limited law enforcement resources, and support of wastefulness. Voting yes on Proposition 2 corrects these wrongs and allows adults to live as free beings; responsible for their choices and actions--as they were intended to be.I'm voting for responsible law. I'm voting yes on Proposition 2.Dirk Nelson is a former licensed clinical social worker and a 26-year Alaska resident who lives in Ester.Complete Title: Proposition 2 Would Help Fight Alaska's Costly War on PrivacySource: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (AK)Author: Dirk NelsonPublished: Sunday, October 10, 2004 Copyright: 2004 Fairbanks Publishing Company, Inc.Contact: letters newsminer.comWebsite: http://www.news-miner.com/ Related Articles & Web Site:Yes on 2 Alaskahttp://www.yeson2alaska.com/Court Chooses Privacy Over Pothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19488.shtmlAlaska Court Narrows Marijuana Search Law http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19406.shtmlAlaskans to Vote on Pot Legalization in '04 http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18067.shtml 
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Comment #1 posted by global_warming on October 10, 2004 at 07:53:06 PT
Freedom-Go Alaska..We Are All With You
"After 14 years of Alaskans with legal protections of privacy being subjected to armed home invasions, ironically by those who swore to uphold their rights, the Ravin Decision of 1975 has been reaffirmed by the Alaska Supreme Court."May this be the spark that ignites all the freedom loving citizens to bring down this horrible war on drugs, this insane war on free people, this spark that will start the fires in all states, that will burn the last remains of the stench of this moral prohibition.
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