Buzzby

DA Asks Judge To Look Again At Issue Of Marijuana Possession
Appeals court willing to reconsider Ravin conclusion if new evidence is compelling enough
Sheila Toomey | Anchorage Daily News | 12/16/2004

DA asks judge to look again at issue of Marijuana possession

The state is going after the 1975 Alaska Supreme Court decision that says adults can possess up to 4 ounces of Marijuana for personal use in their own homes.

In an action supported by Gov. Frank Murkowski, the Anchorage district attorney has asked a judge to re-examine the 1975 Ravin v. state conclusion that Marijuana in small amounts is essentially harmless to adults and not dangerous enough to override Alaska's constitutional right to privacy at home.

"The idea that Marijuana is a harmless substance is contrary to all the scientific studies that exist today," said John Novak, chief assistant district attorney and one of the prosecutors who filed a motion Tuesday in Anchorage Superior Court.

If the state gets its wish, Novak envisions a full-blown hearing about the nature and effects of current Marijuana use featuring experts on both sides.

The state appeals courts have already said they would be willing to reconsider Ravin if presented with compelling new evidence that small amounts of Marijuana are harmful.

Prosecutors may also be buoyed by the 138,072-105,590 vote in last month's election against decriminalizing all amounts of Marijuana.

The vehicle chosen by prosecutors to re-examine the subject is a 2000 case against convicted drug dealer Gerald Mahle, 64, who is currently serving a 25-year sentence on an unrelated 2002 conviction, according to assistant district attorney Keri Brady, who prosecuted both cases.

Mahle was convicted by a jury in the 2000 case on multiple counts involving drugs and guns. Police obtained their initial search warrant in that case based on smelling Marijuana during a conversation at Mahle's door after a neighbor complained about drug trafficking there.

During this period, police and prosecutors were operating under the assumption that the Ravin decision was dead because Alaskans voted in 1990 to re-criminalize possession of any amount of Marijuana.

However, between Mahle's arrest in 2000 and his scheduled sentencing in 2004, the state Court of Appeals threw out a Fairbanks Marijuana conviction and a Marijuana possession charge in Homer on the grounds that Ravin was still the law and possession of less than 4 ounces at home was legal.

Ravin affirmed a constitutional protection that could not be trumped by a ballot initiative, the court said.

The decision in the Homer case, issued this summer, directly affected Mahle, his attorney Gene Cyrus argued in court papers. In that case, police obtained a search warrant for the home of Lee Crocker Jr. on the grounds that they could smell Marijuana. But the court said police could not conclude, just from the smell, that Crocker probably had more than the legal 4 ounces.

Without probable cause, the search warrant should not have been issued, the appeals court agreed, and the charges were dismissed.

Pointing to this decision, Cyrus has asked Superior Court Judge Dan Hensley to reconsider the search warrant issued against Mahle back in 2000 and declare it in violation of Ravin. This would mean dismissal of Mahle's convictions in that case, Brady said.

The case offers the state a perfect opportunity to challenge the science used to convince the 1975 Supreme Court that small amounts of Marijuana are not harmful, Novak said.

"We're asking the court to see if the factual underpinning of Ravin is still valid. We've learned a lot since then."

The decision to challenge Ravin was discussed in the governor's office, said spokeswoman Becky Hultberg. Murkowski has a long-standing concern about the bad effects of Marijuana "on our youth and our society," which "gives the state an interest in regulating it in the home," Hultberg said.

In their request for a hearing, Novak and Brady said Marijuana today is on average six times stronger than what was available in 1975.

In 2003, "36 percent of adult males and 27 percent of adult females arrested in Anchorage tested positive for Marijuana, rising to 68.8 percent and 42.9 percent respectively for ages 15-20," they say, citing a University of Alaska study.

Cyrus, Mahle's attorney, did not return several calls Wednesday requesting comment.

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iGame3D

HAHA thats great, I hope they get their day in court, so science will prove the "on average" garbage dead wrong.

If weed is stronger now than it was 30 years ago, then it only proves one thing..Prohibition grows better pot! in 30 Years it will be 100,000,000 times stronger, one bong hit will equal a fusion reaction and set the atmosphere on fire.

Zilos

Oh give me a break!


Just not gonna happen, this time the Marijuana smokers have the upper hand, nice to see for a change!!


Good, don't need to smoke as much to get the same effect, therefor better for you.


Crazy, seems like's BC's neighbor to the north are doing as good as we are, and better in some area's!

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Cassius

Funny, I thought every American had a constitutional right to privacy at home. Isn't it interesting how that "right" disappears unless judges reinforce it?

It's like this huge game of misdirection by the federal government. They get you to look the other way, and the next thing you know half your liberties are gone without an explanation. We need to take back our country!

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Robert

If's there's ever been an opportunity for Soros to finance an important issue, this is the one. Go get Johnny Cochran and let's get the facts before the Supreme Court of Alaska and let the newspapers of the world write about the results. If the S.C. of Alaska shoots down all the scare tactics and misinformation submitted by the D.A. and drug czar's then movements nationwide will gain momentum.

Buzzby

I don't know why they'd be "buoyed" by the fact that 43% of Alaskan voters decided that they want to legalize Marijuana (not just decriminalize it). If that many want to legalize it you can bet that twice that many don't want to see people going to jail for using it in their own homes.


It makes you wonder how the governor got elected in the first place.

killer12382

The DA does not want to argue this case at all if he has any knowledge concerning pot. There hasn't been alot of legit studies here in the US but that hasn't stopped the world from investigating cannabis. IF these studies are allowed as evidence by the court the DA doesn't stand a chance. IF the judges act unbiased.

knox42897

Hello Freedom Loving Alaskans,

I am a licensed Medical Marijuana Patient in the Great State of Nevada. My licensed physician has authorized me to possess 99 mature Medical Marijuana plants and 2 pounds of useable Marijuana at all times. I would be honored to testify in a court of "justice" or anything similar to it.

Respectfully,

Pierre Werner,

Nevada grower set to branch out with pot sales, The Washington Times