Governor Frank Murkowski, idiot

..has nothing better to do than try to mess with the constitutional right of privacy of Alaskan citizens.
In yesterday’s Anchorage Daily News:

Gov. Frank Murkowski on Friday asked the Legislature to overrule a court ruling that adult Alaskans have the right to possess marijuana for personal use in their homes.

Murkowski introduced a bill that challenges the state court’s ruling and that would significantly tighten other state marijuana laws — making a lot more pot crimes into felonies.

Only one little problem — that court ruling was based on a constitutional right of privacy specified in the Alaska state constitution.

William Satterberg, the Fairbanks lawyer who argued the case that toppled the state prohibition on at-home pot, said he doesn’t think the courts will backtrack.

“Unconstitutional still remains unconstitutional no matter what the Legislature thinks,” Satterberg said.

The Alaska Supreme Court in September let stand a lower court ruling last year that adult Alaskans have the right to possess up to four ounces of marijuana in their homes for personal use. The lower court based its opinion on a 1975 decision, known as Ravin v. State, which declared the strong right to privacy from government interference that is guaranteed under the Alaska Constitution outweighed any social harm that might be caused by the small at-home use of marijuana by adults.

Kudos, by the way, to the Alaska Public Defenders Office:

The Alaska public defender’s agency said it would need another $160,000 a year in state funds to meet its increased workload under the bill.

You can bet there would be a whole lot more expense than that in other areas as well (think prisons).