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Council hears from residents upset over police raids
Recent actions by Tacoma Police Department targeting the distribution of marijuana exemplify the uncertainty law enforcement, lawyers and elected officials face when dealing with the use of the substance for medical purposes.
Washington voters passed an initiative in the late 1990s permitting medicinal marijuana. But that law never addressed how patients would obtain it, which recently has led to a growing cottage industry of marijuana dispensaries.
On July 29 Tacoma police conducted a search of Tacoma Hemp Company, a medical marijuana dispensary in Stadium District.
Lieutenant Shawn Stringer said police have been receiving complaints that it was selling marijuana to people without the proper medical authorization and that it was attracting criminal activity to the neighborhood.
A warrant was served on the home of Justin Prince, owner of Tacoma Hemp Company. Stringer said a growing operation was discovered, which was in violation of the standards set by the state law.
Another warrant was served at the home of Melissa Macourek, who is Prince’s landlord. A small amount of marijuana was found in her home, which is located near Jefferson Park.
Macourek testified at the Aug. 10 Tacoma City Council meeting. She said her young daughter were not home when police arrived. She claims officers broke down her front door, broke handles on cabinets and did other damage.
“I am very displeased my tax dollars were used for this show of unnecessary force,” she told the council.
Stringer said Tacoma officers conduct such raids based on national standards.
“We have specific training we use,” he said. “This is meant to keep officers as well as the public safe. When you deviate from your standard procedures is when people tend to be hurt.”
The state law is considered by many people to be vague and open to many interpretations, especially when it comes to distribution of the medicine.
Stringer admits this creates challenges for law enforcement. “It is cloudy in some areas.” He said local prosecutors have told police that operations like Tacoma Hemp Company are illegal, based on the law.
Jay Berneberg is a criminal defense attorney in Tacoma who represented Prince for a while, but not currently. He has been a legal consultant to dispensaries. The Legislature has adjusted the original law but it is still far from ideal, in his view.
They could have added language that stated a designated provider who supplies marijuana is committing a felony, but they did not. “It would have been the most stupid law ever,” he remarked. “So now TPD and county prosecutors are trying to write that in on their own.”
The law is problematic on several levels, according to Berneberg. How it was implemented violates the will of the people. He also feels prosecutors and police are interpreting it in a way that blurs the division of the branches of government. “We have a genuine separation of power issue.”
Regarding several recent raids on dispensaries, “not one charge I know of is for a transfer of medicine to a legitimate patient,” he said.
Berneberg said in the case of Tacoma Hemp, undercover officers used forged medical authorizations to enter the facility, where they supposedly saw someone smoking marijuana. He said Prince is accused of providing marijuana to the officers.
Berneberg said police would not have the nerve to conduct such actions if medical marijuana was provided by drug stores such as Bartell’s or Walgreen’s. “And they sell highly addictive narcotics.”
If a pharmacist were suspected of illegally providing a prescription painkiller, law enforcement would take a different action. “They certainly would not come in with a SWAT team.”
He said Macourek will not be prosecuted because she has authorization from a doctor to use marijuana. The amount found was about an eighth of an ounce, he noted.
The police actions upset several people enough to testify before the council.
One was Mary McDermott, who represented the group Grandmas for Ganja. She claimed marijuana is the safest, most effective medicine ever available to man. She condemned the raids. “This is not Nazi Germany. This is Washington.”
Don Skakie represented Sensible Washington, a group that attempted to get a statewide initiative on the ballot for full legalization. He accused police and prosecutors of targeting middle-class marijuana users because they have assets to seize, “unlike meth heads in the trailer parks.”
Catherine Jeter said she uses marijuana to treat her rheumatoid arthritis. She said she is a certified public accountant.
“I believe I am an asset to the community. We are not the lowlifes out there being characterized by the media.”
Dr. Scott Havsy said he treats patients who use medical marijuana. He said Tacoma should be a leader in setting policies that allow for proper distribution, such as licensing and regulation.
In Berneberg’s view, much of the opposition to medical marijuana is from people who oppose any marijuana use. For them, the medical angle is just a step toward marijuana becoming legal in the manner of alcohol or cigarettes.
“They consider it a slippery slope.”
Local governments should be concerned about sick and dying people who turn to marijuana for relief, Berneberg said. “People are stepping up to fill that need. That is what this initiative was about. Some of them are business people. That is what capitalism is about. I want them to get it from legitimate business people.”
NewsHawk:MedicalNeed: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Tacoma Weekly :: News, Sports and Entertainment
Author: John Larson
Contact: Tacoma Weekly :: News, Sports and Entertainment
Copyright: 2010 Pierce County Community Newspaper Group
Website:medical marijuana dilemma hits tacoma | Tacoma Weekly
Recent actions by Tacoma Police Department targeting the distribution of marijuana exemplify the uncertainty law enforcement, lawyers and elected officials face when dealing with the use of the substance for medical purposes.
Washington voters passed an initiative in the late 1990s permitting medicinal marijuana. But that law never addressed how patients would obtain it, which recently has led to a growing cottage industry of marijuana dispensaries.
On July 29 Tacoma police conducted a search of Tacoma Hemp Company, a medical marijuana dispensary in Stadium District.
Lieutenant Shawn Stringer said police have been receiving complaints that it was selling marijuana to people without the proper medical authorization and that it was attracting criminal activity to the neighborhood.
A warrant was served on the home of Justin Prince, owner of Tacoma Hemp Company. Stringer said a growing operation was discovered, which was in violation of the standards set by the state law.
Another warrant was served at the home of Melissa Macourek, who is Prince’s landlord. A small amount of marijuana was found in her home, which is located near Jefferson Park.
Macourek testified at the Aug. 10 Tacoma City Council meeting. She said her young daughter were not home when police arrived. She claims officers broke down her front door, broke handles on cabinets and did other damage.
“I am very displeased my tax dollars were used for this show of unnecessary force,” she told the council.
Stringer said Tacoma officers conduct such raids based on national standards.
“We have specific training we use,” he said. “This is meant to keep officers as well as the public safe. When you deviate from your standard procedures is when people tend to be hurt.”
The state law is considered by many people to be vague and open to many interpretations, especially when it comes to distribution of the medicine.
Stringer admits this creates challenges for law enforcement. “It is cloudy in some areas.” He said local prosecutors have told police that operations like Tacoma Hemp Company are illegal, based on the law.
Jay Berneberg is a criminal defense attorney in Tacoma who represented Prince for a while, but not currently. He has been a legal consultant to dispensaries. The Legislature has adjusted the original law but it is still far from ideal, in his view.
They could have added language that stated a designated provider who supplies marijuana is committing a felony, but they did not. “It would have been the most stupid law ever,” he remarked. “So now TPD and county prosecutors are trying to write that in on their own.”
The law is problematic on several levels, according to Berneberg. How it was implemented violates the will of the people. He also feels prosecutors and police are interpreting it in a way that blurs the division of the branches of government. “We have a genuine separation of power issue.”
Regarding several recent raids on dispensaries, “not one charge I know of is for a transfer of medicine to a legitimate patient,” he said.
Berneberg said in the case of Tacoma Hemp, undercover officers used forged medical authorizations to enter the facility, where they supposedly saw someone smoking marijuana. He said Prince is accused of providing marijuana to the officers.
Berneberg said police would not have the nerve to conduct such actions if medical marijuana was provided by drug stores such as Bartell’s or Walgreen’s. “And they sell highly addictive narcotics.”
If a pharmacist were suspected of illegally providing a prescription painkiller, law enforcement would take a different action. “They certainly would not come in with a SWAT team.”
He said Macourek will not be prosecuted because she has authorization from a doctor to use marijuana. The amount found was about an eighth of an ounce, he noted.
The police actions upset several people enough to testify before the council.
One was Mary McDermott, who represented the group Grandmas for Ganja. She claimed marijuana is the safest, most effective medicine ever available to man. She condemned the raids. “This is not Nazi Germany. This is Washington.”
Don Skakie represented Sensible Washington, a group that attempted to get a statewide initiative on the ballot for full legalization. He accused police and prosecutors of targeting middle-class marijuana users because they have assets to seize, “unlike meth heads in the trailer parks.”
Catherine Jeter said she uses marijuana to treat her rheumatoid arthritis. She said she is a certified public accountant.
“I believe I am an asset to the community. We are not the lowlifes out there being characterized by the media.”
Dr. Scott Havsy said he treats patients who use medical marijuana. He said Tacoma should be a leader in setting policies that allow for proper distribution, such as licensing and regulation.
In Berneberg’s view, much of the opposition to medical marijuana is from people who oppose any marijuana use. For them, the medical angle is just a step toward marijuana becoming legal in the manner of alcohol or cigarettes.
“They consider it a slippery slope.”
Local governments should be concerned about sick and dying people who turn to marijuana for relief, Berneberg said. “People are stepping up to fill that need. That is what this initiative was about. Some of them are business people. That is what capitalism is about. I want them to get it from legitimate business people.”
NewsHawk:MedicalNeed: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Tacoma Weekly :: News, Sports and Entertainment
Author: John Larson
Contact: Tacoma Weekly :: News, Sports and Entertainment
Copyright: 2010 Pierce County Community Newspaper Group
Website:medical marijuana dilemma hits tacoma | Tacoma Weekly
