Raid in Everett home

Published: Friday, January 19, 2007

Medical marijuana advocate fuming over raid on home


By Jim Haley
Herald Writer






An Everett medical marijuana advocate is outraged that drug agents served a search warrant on his home, confiscated hundreds of marijuana plants, and took computers and other records.

Steve Sarich said those records contained personal information of about 200 people associated with his organization CannaCare.

The raid was Friday at his north Everett home, where he runs the organization. He gives marijuana starter plants to people eligible to use medical marijuana under state law.

"We don't sell any pot," Sarich said. "What they were doing is harassing us to get patient names. It was a political assassination."

Sarich has openly promoted marijuana use for medical purposes under the 1998 state initiative. The law allows patients to get a doctor recommendation for marijuana to ease pain or to aid them for a variety of illnesses, such as glaucoma, cancer and multiple sclerosis.

Those patients are allowed to grow or possess a 60-day supply of marijuana, under the law.

The federal government doesn't recognize laws in 11 states that allow the use of medical marijuana.

Members of the Kitsap County-based West Sound Narcotics Enforcement Team and federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents Friday served a search warrant at Sarich's home.

Simultaneously, a second warrant was served at the Renton home of Sarich associate John Worthington.

West Sound Sgt. Carlos Rodriguez said officers confiscated more than 1,500 marijuana plants, computers and plant-growing equipment from Sarich's residence. Six plants and some papers were taken from the Worthington home, according to search warrant documents.

Sarich said only a few ounces of marijuana were found at his home, and most of the items seized were cuttings and starter plants. Agents also took $1,020 that Sarich said was set aside to pay his Snohomish County PUD bill.

Worthington and Sarich accused the Kitsap County officers of retaliating for information that Worthington sent to the Legislature last week. Worthington has accused the Kitsap drug unit of circumventing the state medical marijuana law by turning marijuana cases over to federal authorities.

Kitsap officials wrote in court documents that they had a lead and a belief that they would find a large number of marijuana plants in the raids. Rodriguez said the case is still under investigation and he declined to comment further on it.

There have been no arrests, and no charges have been filed.

"Our intent is to disrupt mid- and upper-level marijuana manufacturers," Rodriguez said.

Pat Slack, commander of the Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force, said he was told in advance about the raid and Kitsap officials assured him they didn't need help.

Worthington said he was directly associated with Canna- Care for about a year but has ceased active participation. He was afraid that authorities would come after Sarich, and he tried to avoid becoming involved, he added.

Steve Newman, a Bothell man associated with CannaCare, said he doesn't like it that records were taken.

"I feel kind of threatened about it," said Newman, a multiple sclerosis patient who has a doctor's permission to use marijuana. "I'm not a dealer. I'm an MS patient trying to get relief for my MS."

He said he's working with Sarich on producing a medical card for people who use marijuana to help with health problems. He was afraid that he would become a target when he got involved with CannaCare so he stopped using marijuana.

Confiscation of records and possible dissemination of medical information is something that bothers the ACLU, said Alison Holcomb, director of the state ACLU Marijuana Education Project.

"We're interested in what kind of protection we can offer them on the medical records," Holcomb said. "We'll see if there's some way we can obtain a (court) protective order."

Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or [email protected].

freaking law nazis

There have been no arrests, and no charges have been filed.

"Our intent is to disrupt mid- and upper-level marijuana manufacturers," Rodriguez said.


Wow that is just sad and cruel. Thats our fine leaders in Olympia for you.

man washington is a good state,, but some of the police r just shady lil fucks, and wow they raided a CLINIC? WOW...how LOW can these dam pigs get? lol theyve dug their own grave in hell lol

Fuck.

That's all I have to say about that.

In Washington State, the law states that you can only be the Designated Provider for ONE patient at a time. WA Senate Bill 6032 very recently was ammended to such. They probably gave him 60 days grace period and said BLAM!!

I bet you a hundred bucks they left him with 18 plants total (suggested guideline is 9 plants per patient)

No, they didn't leave him with ANY plants, and he was never charged with anything.

I've had a couple of these cases in my area of Washington.They just take all the plants and let the judge and the prosecuting attorney decide what to do.We need to do like N.Cali. did and have our county commisioners tell there sheriff and prosecuting attorneys that they don't want anymore county resources wasted on less a pound of pot.