cannabisnews.com: DA Asks Judge To Look at Issue of MJ Possession










  DA Asks Judge To Look at Issue of MJ Possession

Posted by CN Staff on December 16, 2004 at 08:39:26 PT
By Sheila Toomey, Anchorage Daily News 
Source: Anchorage Daily News 

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.Complete Title: DA Asks Judge To Look Again at Issue of Marijuana Possession Snipped:Complete Article: http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/again.htmNewshawk: ShortpierSource: Anchorage Daily News (AK)Author: Sheila Toomey, Anchorage Daily NewsPublished: December 16, 2004Copyright: 2004 The Anchorage Daily News Contact: letters adn.com Website: http://www.adn.com/ Related Articles:Voters Overwhelmingly Reject Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19764.shtmlMarijuana Initiative Heats Up Electionshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19741.shtmlAlaskans To Vote on Legalizing Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19738.shtml 

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Comment #25 posted by Dankhank on December 17, 2004 at 12:45:12 PT:
Showtime....
will probably keep the show if it is good.Between HBO an Showtime a lot o controversial shows have run:Deadwood, Dead Like Me, Six Feet Under and many that escape me at this juncture.I look forward to the shows that push the edge.Hey herbdoc ...E me re: Lucy Mae, I would love to talk to her if possible ...Peace to all ...
Wonderful Pain Reliever
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Comment #24 posted by Hope on December 17, 2004 at 09:12:08 PT
FDA
Dallas news did a piece last night on FDA corruption and untrustworthiness.
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Comment #23 posted by afterburner on December 17, 2004 at 08:52:32 PT
RE Celebrex
Pharmaceutical companies and their FDA lapdog are self-destructing from the weight of their own corruption, and the informed journalists of the Internet.
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Comment #22 posted by dididadadidit on December 17, 2004 at 08:33:51 PT
Weeds and Censorship
With Michael Powell heading up the FCC and substituting "bleep" for every tenth word on TV, and with FOX the worst, but the rest of the electronic "librul" media running a close second in the disemination of propaganda in lieu of news, I fail to see how a show of this nature will make it to the air at all. I hope I'm wrong, but I fear this show will never see the light of day, or if it does, one episode, tops.Sorry?
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Comment #21 posted by Stick on December 17, 2004 at 07:04:24 PT
Pfizer stock down 14% on news
Celebrex causing heart problems. CNN NEWS.
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Comment #20 posted by Hope on December 16, 2004 at 21:28:37 PT
that's a stunning bunch of news, HerbDoc
My gosh! It sounds awful. The busts, the mud, the guns. But it seems I can sense your new strength from here. And new strength for you with all the troubles you've had is wonderful news.Canada doesn't sound like a good place to go to get out from under the jackboots. It sounds like you have a lot of writing to do to catch us up. Love and best wishes from way down here in Texas.Gold mining? I sure hope some of that gold is yours. I'm so happy to hear you are feeling strong. 
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Comment #19 posted by herbdoc215 on December 16, 2004 at 21:04:58 PT
Hope, thanks 
and I can tell you after being 80 km from town and 50 km from the nearest people since May, that coming here and reading yalls thoughts and 'hopes' was missed most of all about not having 'the net'. We got "Air America" out of Seattle all summer for news but Many times I would here them say something and wonder what you all was saying about it :) I've been trying to catch-up all week. Working my butt off in the mountains all summer was the best thing that ever happened to my health and even with a broken screw in my back I feel better than I have in years. Getting away from things(and being in mountains) has sure helped put things in place also for me mentally and spiritually, and I'm rearing to go again. We were raided by RCMP and federal pot-cops 4 TIMES this summer, despite them not having found one roach,huh imagine that. They just couldn't believe we had all that land and wasn't growing :) dumbass cops! Even was held face down in a mud puddle with an M-16 against my head for 5 hours while they searched our mine, was thrown in jail over nite whilst they search and then they didn't find nothing and just said, oh you can go now...no sorry nodda? I fill you all in on the gory story later as it really is funny as hell....you just should have seen the cops faces when they finally saw our ore room full of gold, they knew their shit was weak then, haha. Amazing how things can change, yet stay the same isn't it? Peace and best wishes, Steve Tuck 
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Comment #18 posted by FoM on December 16, 2004 at 20:54:54 PT
herbdoc215
It's so good to hear from you. This war against a medicinal plant is just so hard to understand sometimes. Ever since 9-11 life hasn't been the same. We are doing fine except we can't shake this flu. You start to feel better and then it gets to you and you feel so tired and sick. Sooner or later we'll shake this thing. As far as moving to Canada I don't want to leave my home. I'm sure it's nice up there but my life is here. Please drop in here more often if you have time. 
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Comment #17 posted by Hope on December 16, 2004 at 20:39:59 PT
Hey, HerbDoc
So good to hear from you! I'm glad you're still alive man, and it sounds like you are feeling pretty well.So good to hear from you!
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Comment #16 posted by herbdoc215 on December 16, 2004 at 20:28:48 PT
Well, Lucy Mae ain't more than 30 miles 
from Gilbertsville, Ky. now and I would LOVE for you to be able to ask her about living in Canada,hahahahaha!(I can usually only get her to spend about 6 months a year here with me then she's gotta go back home to recharge) You would sure get an ear-full and I don't think you weould feel the same about moving to Canada after that meeting beleive me :) Things are never what they seem and nothing but Humboldt has ever lived up to billing for me and look what that led too? And as a cannabis patient who lives in sunny BC and has lived in Northern Cali I can say it's much easier in Cali if all you were going to do was worry about your own medicine and not get involved in politics or the struggle for others to get their medicine. Things here in BC are all up in the air now with politics as usual surrounding all aspects of medical cannabis right now, and several groups of advocates fighting amongst each other for control of situation as hard as they are fighting the government... all the while Health Canada is tunnelling under the entire club system trying to foist the mulch they are growing in Flon Flon upon all clubs to stay in biz next year. This is going to be an interesting year in for the cannabis world and I'm sure glad to be a miner these days:) Peace, Steve Tuck
PS. FoM, just wanted to say hi and hope your doing well. I am down off the mountain for the winter this year, 6 foot of snow is more than I'm up to this year. Sure is good to be back into the world again.
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Comment #14 posted by FoM on December 16, 2004 at 17:40:04 PT

News Brief from UPI on Weeds
Showtime Picks Up Pot Comedy LOS ANGELES, Dec 16, 2004 (United Press International via COMTEX) -- Showtime picked up a full season of "Weeds," a comedy starring Mary-Louise Parker as a pot-dealing mom, Daily Variety said Thursday. Parker, who won an Emmy for her performance in the HBO miniseries, "Angels in America," stars as a suburban mom who turns to selling marijuana after the untimely death of her husband. Showtime Entertainment President Robert Greenblatt acknowledged that the show bears some resemblance to the ABC hit, "Desperate Housewives," but said audiences would be able to tell the difference. "I don't think 'Weeds' will seem derivative once people see it," he said. "I think there are plenty of people struggling with suburban life and that there are a number of different interpretations of that." Greenblatt said the show would be "sort of audacious with the pot-selling," but he said it also had "a lot of heart and family values." Copyright 2004 by United Press Internationalhttp://www.moremusic104.com/index.php?nid=120&sid=35217

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Comment #13 posted by FoM on December 16, 2004 at 17:20:34 PT

tokenitallup4162
I don't get Showtime anymore but maybe the shows will wind up on line. I'm not anything but an American. Political Parties just don't interest me because I don't believe most of what they stand for. I am an issue type person. This issue keeps me busy enough.Here's an article on the study in Canada.http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread19999.shtml
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Comment #12 posted by tokenitallup4162 on December 16, 2004 at 16:51:59 PT:

            Interlate
 I noticed the meta-analysis issue are all replubicans, looks like that needs to be changed? and I'm a replubican, well, guess that needs a changing too!!! Do wished I lived in Canada, liked the COMPASS research, to bad good ole USA Replubican's couldn't learn from this??? Fom, if ya'll here of another channel for the show WEEDS, would love to know, get everything BUT showtimes, that needs changed too! (exhales). Dank, noticed you were going to be in Gibertsville,Ky, in a day or so. kewl, I live about 28 miles from there. Just needed to interlate," ventilate on the internet" Toker
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Comment #11 posted by siege on December 16, 2004 at 12:19:03 PT

 cannabis opponent Rep. Mark Souder 
December 9, 2004 - Washington, DC, USAWashington, DC: Federal legislation introduced last week seeks to require the US National Institutes on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to develop a "meta-analysis of the available scientific data regarding the safety and health risks of smoking marijuana and the clinically-proven effectiveness of smoking marijuana for medicinal purposes, and to require the Food and Drug Administration to promptly disseminate the meta-analysis." The bill, H.R. 5429, was introduced by longtime medical cannabis opponent Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN), along with Reps. Henry Bonilla (R-TX), Jack Kingston (R-GA), Pete Sessions (R-TX), and Christopher Smith (R-NJ). http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread20009.shtml
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on December 16, 2004 at 11:51:32 PT

Off Topic: For Those Who Get Showtime
Showtime Picks Up Dime's Worth of 'Weeds'Thursday, December 16, 2004LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) Showtime is toked -- er, stoked -- about the comedy "Weeds."The pay-cable network has ordered 10 episodes of the half-hour series about a newly widowed mother (Emmy winner Mary-Louise Parker) who starts selling marijuana to help make ends meet. The show will likely premiere in late spring or early summer."It just feels unlike anything else out there," Showtime's entertainment president, Robert Greenblatt, tells The Hollywood Reporter. "It's ironic because there is some audacious subject matter in it with respect to selling of the marijuana, yet it also has a lot of heart and a lot of family values. I think it's a really complex and interesting comedy for us."
 
The show will center on Parker's character's efforts to keep up the facade of being a good mother and member of the PTA in her suburban California town while dealing dope on the side. "Weeds" also stars Elizabeth Perkins ("Big," "Finding Nemo") and "Saturday Night Live" alumnus Kevin Nealon.Jenji Kohan ("Will & Grace," "The Stones") created the show and will serve as an executive producer. Brian Dannelly, who directed Parker in the indie comedy "Saved!," also directed the pilot for "Weeds" and will be a producer. 
http://tv.zap2it.com/tveditorial/tve_main/1,1002,271%7C92403%7C1%7C,00.html
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Comment #9 posted by siege on December 16, 2004 at 11:49:07 PT

 smoked marijuana myth effectively debunked 

  OVERVIEW OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA RESEARCH
  In its position paper, "Use of Marijuana as a 'Medicine,'" the
  California Narcotics Officers Association refers to "10,000 studies...
  documenting the harmful physical and psychological effects of smoking
  marijuana." This myth has been effectively debunked in a letter to Dr.
  Lester Grinspoon from NIDA's marijuana research librarian at the U. of
  Mississippi, Beverly Urbanek, who writes, "We are totally in the dark as to
  where the statement that there are 10,000 studies showing the negative
  impact of marijuana could have originated." She explains that while her
  library has some 12,000 citations on cannabis, they cover a broad spectrum
  of economic, legal, horticultural, enforcement, and other non-health
  issues, and are not categorized by negative or positive effects.
  Pursuing the issue further, it is possible to enumerate an
  impressive number of studies on marijuana's therapeutic uses. There is no
  space here to list or summarize all of them. The book, "Cannabinoids as
  Therapeutic Agents," edited by Dr. Raphael Mechoulam (CRC, 1986), includes
  copious references to research articles on cannabis' pharmacologicalhttp://www.marijuana.org/DalesReport.html#foot2
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Comment #8 posted by Deboche on December 16, 2004 at 11:16:07 PT

stay blind
"The idea that marijuana is a harmless substance is contrary to all the scientific studies that exist today," it's actually contrary to some few non-scientific studies that existed years ago, but it's enough for them
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on December 16, 2004 at 10:33:27 PT

mayan and everyone
If I find this article on a site like AlterNet I'll post it right away. Maybe it will get published in a newspaper. It should.
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Comment #6 posted by dongenero on December 16, 2004 at 10:28:39 PT

great article mayan
That is one I would like to copy and paste to every public servant.
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Comment #5 posted by mayan on December 16, 2004 at 10:19:44 PT

unrelated...
Will Medical Marijuana Survive In The Land Of The Free?
http://rense.com/general60/willmedicalmarijuana.htm
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Comment #4 posted by billos on December 16, 2004 at 09:55:03 PT

.....................Moron.................
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. How can the moron John Novak say this when the DEA refuses to let any real research studies begin??? 
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Comment #3 posted by ekim on December 16, 2004 at 09:20:26 PT

Night Line
did anyone see Night Line last nite and tonight on the issue of PTSD and how many are returning with it
http://www.leap.cc/events
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Comment #2 posted by Sam Adams on December 16, 2004 at 09:11:34 PT

lessons learned
"We're asking the court to see if the factual underpinning of Ravin is still valid. We've learned a lot since then"Oh yeah, you've learned all right. You've learned that people's overall intelligence and civic awareness has greatly decreased since the 70's through the dumbing-down effect of mass culture and corporate-driven consumerism. You've learned that demogogeury and fear-monging will convince the average moron to support HUGE tax expenditures and arresting vast numbers of ordinary people that happen to use cannabis.You prosecutors have learned that even right in the middle of the "war on terror", American governments can get away with sending armed thugs to arrest 750,000 thousand citizens for touching a plant. It's a pretty good deal for a little wanna-be fascist in a suit, isn't it? The haters-with-a-badge club must be burning with envy up there in AK.
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Comment #1 posted by b4daylight on December 16, 2004 at 08:57:35 PT

Debate?
To bad the US governmanet does not do drug debates.
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