Ketchikan, USA - A judge has denied the appeal of drug convictions by a Craig couple, who said they only used a liquefied form of marijuana in their religious practices.
Juneau Superior Court Judge Larry Weeks said he didn't believe Maria and Michael Lineker described a real religion when Michael Lineker said they mixed a half gallon of liquefied marijuana with half a gallon of olive oil and then poured it over their bodies.
"The court finds that the defendants' marijuana growing operation was the result of an idiosyncratic belief system conjured up in order to allow them to experiment with the illegal drug," Weeks wrote.
There was no evidence to "establish that the Linekers were practicing any institutional set of values or codification of ethics that involved methods of how to deal with the world. There is no credible recognition of some force or power beyond the personal that is themselves. Their God is themselves," he wrote.
The Linekers were arrested in 2003 after police discovered 50 marijuana plants in a hidden room behind a freezer in their Craig home. Police found no paraphernalia related to smoking, ingesting or selling marijuana.
The state charged them with fourth-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance, a felony.
The Linekers filed a motion to dismiss the indictment, claiming that their possession was protected under state and federal rights to privacy and free exercise of religion. Weeks denied the motion but preserved the Linekers' right to appeal that decision.
In 2004, the Linekers entered plea bargains with the state. They both pleaded guilty, he to fourth-degree misconduct, she to fourth-degree attempted misconduct. He received seven days and she got a suspended sentence.
However, the couple appealed, and Weeks heard arguments last week after the Alaska Court of Appeals sent the case back to him to determine whether a religion was involved, if Linekers' conduct in question was religiously based, and whether they were sincere in their religious beliefs.
Weeks cited Michael Lineker's prior history of marijuana convictions and said his testimony was inconsistent.
"His speech and manner under oath left the court with a firm conviction that as he was testifying, he was making it up as he went along," Weeks wrote.
"The court finds that there is no religion in the Linekers' professed belief system and that those beliefs are not sincere religious beliefs, and a second hearing is not necessary."