Nation IN BRIEF : ALASKA : Suit to Block New Pot Law Is Filed

Three lawyers for the group Alaskans for Privacy filed suit in state Superior Court in Anchorage to have Alaska’s new pot law declared invalid. The law that went into effect this week makes possession of marijuana punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Pot had been legal in Alaska for adults to have, to use and to grow--as long as it was under four ounces and at home--since 1975 when the Alaska Supreme Court threw out the state marijuana law. But last year, a ballot measure to outlaw pot was favored by 54% of voters.