PRIVACY WINS IN POT RULING

Opinion: Possession of Less Than 4 Ounces Doesn't Justify Search.

The Alaska Court of Appeals ruled Friday that police cannot execute a
search warrant in a person's home for possession of less than 4 ounces
of marijuana.

Attorney General Gregg Renkes says he will appeal the ruling to the
state Supreme Court and he is "fearful that this will shut down
effective investigation of marijuana growing cases."

The Appeals Court ruled in the case of Leo Richardson Crocker Jr., who
was charged with controlled substance misconduct after police, acting
on a tip, searched his Anchor Point home and found marijuana and
growing equipment.

A lower court ruled the search warrant that led to the arrest should
never have been issued and suppressed the evidence against Crocker.
The Appeals Court agreed.

The opinion is the latest decision that has carved out protections for
possessing marijuana in an Alaska home. The state Supreme Court in
1975 ruled that an adult's rights to limited marijuana possession was
protected under the state constitution's privacy provisions. Last year
the Appeals Court defined that limit as 4 ounces.

The Appeals Court also struck down a 1990 voter initiative that
criminalized possession of any amount of marijuana.

To execute a search warrant, police must have reason to believe the
amount of marijuana exceeds 4 ounces or is being used in connection
with a crime, the Appeals Court said Friday.

Renkes said the ruling hamstrings police efforts to break up marijuana
growers.

"It will be rare that there will be someone who can provide eyewitness
information to the amount of marijuana in a growing operation," Renkes
said. "At this point the only way to get a search warrant is for
someone to testify to the size of the crop."

Renkes said he plans to ask the U.S. Attorney's Office to be more
aggressive in busting marijuana growers, as the court's ruling does
not affect federal cases.

State prosecutors argued that the earlier decisions did not legalize
marijuana possession in the home. Rather, the decisions created a
defense that people can use when they are charged with possession.

Marijuana possession is a criminal offense and a warrant can be issued
if there is probable cause to believe there is any marijuana in the
home, prosecutors argued.

The court dismissed that argument, saying the earlier decisions
defined a constitutional limitation to the government's ability to
prohibit marijuana possession.