ANCHORAGE MAN WINS FIGHT TO GROW MARIJUANA IN HIS APARTMENT

On September 25, 2002, Anchorage District Court Judge Nancy Nolan upheld
that a landlord could not evict a tenant for growing and using marijuana
for personal use. This decision was based on the Alaska State
Constitution Article 1 Section 22 Privacy Rights. This amendment to the
Alaska State Constitution was added in 1972 and was further defined in
1975 by Ravin vs. State in which the Supreme Court of Alaska determined
that this right to privacy included small quantities of marijuana. The
court further defined the small amounts of marijuana in 1980 to be four
ounces or less. In 1990, the state was able to pass a popular
referendum to recriminalize the personal use of marijuana. However, in
1993 in the case of McNeill vs. State of Alaska, Judge Thompson of the
Supreme Court of Alaska said that carrying a popular vote could not
change a constitution amendment. The court in several cases has upheld
this decision. The last case that addressed this question occurred in
2001 and again the court found that the constitution amendment and the
Ravin decision were still valid.

This case began when the landlord became aware that a tenant in his
building was growing two marijuana plants. The landlord then issued a
five-day eviction notice to the tenant for using the apartment for
illegal purposes. The tenant refused to move and informed the landlord
that he had a right to grow and use marijuana in accordance with the
Alaska State Constitution. This case could have only taken place in
Alaska because of how the state constitution has been amended to include
the personal use of marijuana. There are other states that include
privacy rights in their constitutions. They are Arizona, California,
Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Montana, South Carolina, and
Washington State. The U. S. Constitution does not contain any privacy
rights although the U. S. Supreme Court has determined that basic
privacy rights are inferred by five constitution amendments, first,
third, fourth, fifth, and ninth.

Further information on this case can be obtained from public records or
from Arlen Zacharias. You can contact Arlen Zacharias at (907) 770
6531. You can obtain a transcript of this case by referring to case
number 3AN-02-10336Civil.


Arlen Zacharias
P. O. Box 141064
Anchorage, Alaska
Email: arsyn@gci.net
(907) 770 6531