Title: Brown v. State
Citation: 565 P.2d 179
Docket Number: 2522
State: Alaska
Issuer: Alaska Supreme Court
Date: June 13, 1977

565 P.2d 179 (1977) Robin Curtis BROWN, Appellant, v. STATE of Alaska, Appellee. No. 2522. Supreme Court of Alaska. June 13, 1977. Phillip P. Weidner, Drathman &amp; Weidner, Anchorage, and Brian Shortell, Public Defender, Anchorage, for appellant. Glen C. Anderson, Asst. Dist. Atty., Joseph D. Balfe, Dist. Atty., Anchorage, and Avrum Gross, Atty. Gen., Juneau, for appellee. Before BOOCHEVER, C.J., RABINOWITZ, CONNOR and BURKE, JJ., and DIMOND, J. Pro Tem. PER CURIAM. Robin Curtis Brown pled guilty to an indictment charging him with the unlawful sale and distribution of marijuana. Brown reserved the right to appeal the constitutionality of AS 17.12.010.[1] Brown arranged for the sale of two pounds of marijuana by *180 a juvenile to an undercover narcotics agent.[2] He was paid $5.00 by the seller for his assistance in the transaction. Imposition of Brown's sentence was deferred for two years. Counsel for Brown has filed a well-written brief and has argued eloquently in presenting numerous challenges to the constitutionality of AS 17.12.010. We remain unpersuaded, however, and find that all of the substantial contentions have been answered by our prior opinions in Ravin v. State, 537 P.2d 494 (Alaska 1975), and Belgarde v. State, 543 P.2d 206 (Alaska 1975). In Ravin, we found that problems caused by marijuana did not present a sufficiently close and substantial relationship to the public welfare as to justify prohibition of its possession in the home for personal use. However, we expressly stated: Here Brown was convicted for aiding in the sale of a sizable quantity of marijuana. Pertaining to the same transaction, we stated in Belgarde v. State: For the reasons more fully set forth in Ravin and Belgarde, the judgment of conviction is AFFIRMED. [1] AS 17.12.010 provides: Acts prohibited. Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, it is unlawful for a person to manufacture, compound, counterfeit, possess, have under his control, sell, prescribe, administer, dispense, give, barter, supply or distribute in any manner, a depressant, hallucinogenic or stimulant drug. [2] Gale Howard Belgarde also assisted in the transaction by taking the marijuana from the trunk of the juvenile's car to the car of the narcotics agent. His conviction for possession of marijuana in violation of AS 17.12.010 was upheld on appeal. Belgarde v. State, 543 P.2d 206 (Alaska 1975).