Court of Appeals of Alaska.
David S. NOY, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Alaska, Appellee.
No. A-8327.
Aug. 29, 2003.
Appeal from the District Court, Fourth Judicial
District, Fairbanks, Jane F. Kauvar, Judge.
William R. Satterberg, Jr., Law Offices of William
R. Satterberg, Jr., Fairbanks, for Appellant.
Kenneth M. Rosenstein, Assistant Attorney General,
Office of Special Prosecutions and Appeals,
Anchorage, and Gregg D. Renkes, Attorney General,
Juneau, for Appellee.
Before: COATS, Chief Judge, and MANNHEIMER
and STEWART, Judges.
OPINION
STEWART, Judge.
*1 A jury convicted David S. Noy of violating AS
11.71.060(a), which prohibits possession of less than
eight ounces of marijuana. The marijuana was found
in Noy's home. Noy appeals his conviction, arguing
that he was convicted for engaging in conduct
(possession of marijuana for personal use in one's
home) that is protected by the privacy provision of
the Alaska Constitution (article I, section 22) [FN1]
FN1. See Ravin v. State, 537 P.2d 494
(Alaska 1975)…
…Alaska citizens have the right to possess
less than four ounces of marijuana in their home for
personal use. The State remains free to retry Noy if the
State believes it can prove that Noy possessed at least
four ounces of marijuana. …
…Facts of the case
The North Pole police contacted Noy at his home
and told him they smelled growing marijuana. The
police searched Noy's house and found
approximately eleven ounces of harvested marijuana,
consisting of buds, leaves, and stalks. The police also
found five immature marijuana plants. The police did
not, however, find any scales or packaging material;
nor was there any other evidence that Noy was
engaged in any commercial conduct involving
marijuana.
…"[m]arijuana
means the seeds, leaves, buds, and flowers of the
plant, Cannabis, whether growing or not, but it does
not include the stalks of the plants, or fiber produced
from the stalks." …
…Conclusion
To make AS 11.71.060(a)(1) consistent with article
I, section 22 of the Alaska Constitution as interpreted
in Ravin, we must limit the scope of the statute. As
currently written, the statute prohibits possession of
any amount of marijuana. But with regard to
possession of marijuana by adults in their home for
personal use, AS 11.71.060(a)(1) must be interpreted
to prohibit only the possession of four ounces or
more of marijuana.
The judgment of the district court is REVERSED.
2003 WL 22026345 (Alaska App.)
Anchorage
