Home : Drug Policy

ACLU Demand Letter to Hawaii Governor Lingle Calling for Halt to Random Drug Testing of Educators (10/04/2007)
An ACLU letter delivered to Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle demanding withdrawal of the State's plan to randomly drug test Hawaii's educators. The letter stipulates that unless the random drug testing scheme is rescinded by November 15, 2007, a group of teachers, librarians and other educators will bring a lawsuit against the policy.

U.S. v. Goddard - Petition for Rehearing or Rehearing En Banc (09/05/2007)
An ACLU filing challenging the constitutionality of the police tactic known as a "jump out," widely employed against minority residents of high-crime neighborhoods. The ACLU is seeking a rehearing in the case of Melvin Goddard, who was arrested utilizing this aggressive tactic used to detain and search suspects.

County of Santa Cruz v. Gonzales - Order Granting Motion to Dismiss (08/30/2007)
Consistent with the Ninth Circuit’s March 2007 ruling in Raich v. Gonzales, Judge Jeremy Fogel of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division, dismissed outright a number of claims made of behalf of the Wo/Men’s Alliance for Medical Marijuana (WAMM). Importantly, however, two of the issues raised by WAMM and the County and City of Santa Cruz remain alive: (1) the ability of patients to raise a medical necessity defense in the face of federal prosecution, and (2) the claim that the federal government may have violated the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Kimbrough v. United States - ACLU Amicus Brief (07/26/2007)

Santa Barbara v. Poet - Final Ruling (07/10/2007)
A ruling by the California Superior Court dismissing the City of Santa Barbara's challenge of a voter enacted initiative that makes marijuana use the lowest law enforcement priority.

Santa Barbara v. Poet - (Anti-SLAPP) Motion to Strike (05/07/2007)
The ACLU's motion to dismiss the City of Santa Barbara's lawsuit against Heather Poet due to the suit's violation of California's ban on strategic lawsuits against public participation (“SLAPP”). Poet is the sponsor of a recently passed ballot initiative that makes marijuana use Santa Barbara's lowest law enforcement priority.

ACLU of Alaska v. State - ACLU Brief to Alaska Supreme Court (05/04/2007)
The ACLU's brief to the Alaska Supreme Court concerning whether the state may enter homes based solely on adults’ private possession of a small amount of marijuana. In May 2006, the Alaska legislature re-enacted a law that would criminalize private, adult marijuana possession – a law that the Alaska Supreme Court struck down in 1975. The American Civil Liberties Union challenged the law, arguing that the state constitution’s privacy provisions protect adults who use and possess marijuana in their homes from police surveillance, searches, arrest and prosecution. On July 10, 2006 a Juneau Superior Court judge struck down the legislature’s attempt to criminalize private, adult marijuana possession. The ACLU is asking the Supreme Court to affirm this lower court ruling.

ACLU v. Alaska - ACLU Brief in Reply to State's AK Supreme Court Appeal (04/18/2007)
The ACLU's brief to the Alaska Supreme Court asking that the Court affirm a state Superior Court ruling and dismiss the government's appeal. The ruling struck down as unconstitutional a newly enacted law prohibiting all marijuana possession, holding that the privacy protections afforded by the Alaska constitution protect adults who possess marijuana in their homes.

Santa Cruz v. Gonzales - Supplemental Brief in Support of Opposition to Motion to Dismiss (04/18/2007)
A supplemental brief filed by plaintiffs examining the impact of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' dismissal of Gonzales v. Raich on this case. Santa Cruz v. Gonzales, which addresses the right of qualified patients to use medical marijuana and the right of states to provide for such use absent federal interference, was on hold pending the outcome of Raich.