I'm aware it isn't a county per se, but I was trying to expand this issue beyond Alaska. Whether it be a county, borough, or parish, it is still a level of law that is beneath the state level.

After reading the story, I find it surprising that the borough is spending money for detectives to live and work in Fairbanks and Anchorage to search the US mail. The amount of money that this must be equal to...I was just surprised. It didn't seem to matter given that the article goes on to imply that most of the booze is imported legally by permit holders.

Working in Prudhoe, I've seen people get drunk on mouthwash and high on Lysol. If someone wants to get bombed, they will find a way. As a Chemist, I am highly skeptical of a dog being able to distinguish between aftershave, hand sanitizer, and booze. If it contains ethanol, then it contains ethanol. I've read too many stories of drug-sniffing dogs that alert and then no drugs are found. It gets explained as "residue" when it sometimes is the dog making a mistake or alerting based on subconscious cues from its handler.

Really happy to hear Alaska isn't condoning this. One of the comments on the ADN article said it was to be expected given who was running security at Alaska. Something about being pardoned by President Clinton. Not sure what it was all about, but obviously that person felt AS should allow blanket searches. The state of Alaska can be confusing sometimes.