|
Newsbrief:
Marijuana
Legal
in
Alaska,
But
Attorney
General
Orders
Cops
to
Confiscate
It,
Work
with
Feds
to
Build
Cases
9/19/03
Alaska Attorney General Gregg
Renkes is slowly coming to grips with reality. Befuddled by last
month's Alaska Appeals Court ruling legalizing the possession of up to
four ounces of pot in the home (https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle-old/301/alaska.shtml),
Renkes at first blustered mightily that marijuana remained illegal.
But in a memo to prosecutors and the Alaska State Troopers this week, Renkes
instructed them not to arrest or cite people in possession of small amounts
in their homes.
But police and state troopers
should still seize the pot and investigate to see if federal marijuana
trafficking cases can be developed, Renkes said in the memo. "This
includes seizing and treating as evidence all marijuana found, even if
under four ounces in the home, and writing reports documenting the investigation,"
Renkes wrote.
Renkes has announced that
he will appeal the legalization ruling, but now concedes that legalization
is the law of the land, at least for now. "We have to respect the
language of the appeals court decision," Renkes told the Anchorage Daily
News Wednesday.
Renkes did not explain which
novel legal theory would allow police enforcing Alaska laws to steal the
legal property of Alaska residents. Alaska police officials are pooh-poohing
the importance of the ruling. They don't make marijuana arrests a
high priority, they said.
-- END --
|
Issue #303, 9/19/03
Editorial:
Don't Stop There |
A Clean,
Well-Lit Place to Shoot Dope: Western Hemisphere's First Government-Approved
Safe Injection Site Opens in Vancouver |
And Then
There Were Four: Canadian Marijuana Possession Laws Crumble |
Britain's
Pending Cannabis Decrim Will Allow for Some Arrests |
More Than
Just Memories: Cheryl Miller Memorial Project in DC Next Week |
Newsbrief:
Seattle Voters Tell Police to Make Marijuana Possession Lowest Priority |
Newsbrief:
Marijuana Legal in Alaska, But Attorney General Orders Cops to Confiscate
It, Work with Feds to Build Cases |
Newsbrief:
Ecstasy Scandal Grows as Second Study Retracted |
Newsbrief:
Drug Policy Alliance Issues Report on Changes in State Drug Laws |
Newsbrief:
This Week's Corrupt Cops Story |
Newsbrief:
Reefer Madness in the Heart of Africa |
Newsbrief:
Campaign Comments -- John Edwards on Industrial Hemp |
Newsbrief:
Murderous Thai Drug War in Final Drive to be "Drug Free" |
Newsbrief:
UN Agency Calls for Change in Colombia Drug War Strategy |
Current Action
Alerts: Medical Marijuana, Plan Colombia, HEA, Ashcroft's Attack
on Judicial Discretion |
Perry Fund
Accepting Applications for 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 School Years, Providing
Scholarships for Students Losing Aid Because of Drug Convictions |
Errata:
Dutch MedMj, Ecstasy Study Stories Last Two Weeks |
The Reformer's
Calendar
|
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