INITIAL HEARING HELD ON MARIJUANA LAW CHALLENGE

A judge is asking the state of Alaska for its evidence that marijuana
has become so dangerously potent in the last three decades that it
warranted tightening one of the nation's most liberal possession laws.

Judge Patricia Collins requested the documentation Thursday, three
days after the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska asked the
court to block a new state law recriminalizing marijuana.

The civil liberties group alleges the new law is an unconstitutional
invasion of privacy.

Gov. Frank Murkowski pushed the law through the Legislature and signed
it June 2. But in preparation for the expected court fight, Murkowski
and the Legislature included in the bill a set of findings meant to
prove that marijuana has increased in potency since the original
Supreme Court decision

The court's original ruling in 1975 favored privacy rights over
criminal penalties for pot possession. Later court decisions set a
legal limit of 4 ounces that an individual can keep in the home.

In an initial hearing Thursday, Collins asked the state to submit a
brief that contains the complete legislative record on the new law.

Dean Guaneli, the state's chief assistant attorney general, said he
planned to assemble on Friday the documents the state submitted to the
Legislature and a transcript of the legislative hearings on the bill.

ACLU attorneys will respond with their own documentation that counters
Murkowski's claims, said ACLU of Alaska Executive Director Michael
Macleod-Ball.

Collins has set the next hearing for July 5. Sometime after, she is
expected to issue a final order on whether to grant a permanent
injunction blocking the law.

Whatever her decision, the case is expected to be appealed and
ultimately decided by the Alaska Supreme Court.

Under the new law, marijuana possession of 4 ounces or more is a
felony. Possession of 1 to 4 ounces is a misdemeanor punishable by up
to a year in jail; less than 1 ounce is a misdemeanor punishable by up
to 90 days in jail.