Seized: Items Taken As Drug Paraphernalia' With Defective Search Warrant. The city wants Doug Myers' bongs. And Myers, owner of The Black Market, wants them back. Only he calls them pipes. The pipes, or bongs, were the subject of a hearing Friday in which two attorneys asked a judge to figure out if items seized with a defective search warrant can be considered contraband. Some 31 boxes of goods were taken by Anchorage police from The Black Market in March, after the Anchorage Assembly made it a criminal offense to sell "drug paraphernalia." City attorneys later determined something was wrong with the search warrant and didn't charge Myers with a criminal offense. [continues 317 words]
APPEAL: Jury Shouldn't Have Included Dead Plants In Pot Count, Judges Say. An appellate court Friday reversed the conviction of a Fairbanks woman found guilty in 1998 of felony possession of marijuana plants because the jury considered dead remnants -- stalk and root ball -- of her previously harvested plants when reaching its decision. Authorities had seized 19 live marijuana plants and 33 containers of marijuana stocks and roots from Carol V. Pease's house, according to the decision by the Alaska Court of Appeals. During her trial, the jury was told the 33 containers of dead plants were considered "plants of the genus Cannabis" for purposes of law, and that it didn't matter if the plants were dead or alive, according to the appellate decision. [continues 167 words]
Police Cart Off Boxes Of Goods Worth Thousands. Months after the Anchorage Assembly made it a criminal offense to sell items defined as "drug paraphernalia," Anchorage police seized boxes of stuff from two local novelty stores last week. At least two other stores removed items from shelves. Police were spurred into action last Monday after a citizen reported "suspicious activity" at Really Neat Stuff, said police detective Dennis Allen. The citizen described a store with toys in the front and saloon-type doors opening to a back area that housed other items, Allen said. [continues 794 words]
