Pot raid angers medical-marijuana supporters

// added July 17, 2008 // 7 comments //
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http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008056143_medpot17m0...

Martin Martinez says the small, private collective and outreach group he runs from a University District storefront are legal, a place for medical-marijuana patients to get help growing the medicine they need to manage their pain.

One of the earliest advocates for what became a voter-approved state medical-marijuana law 10 years ago, Martinez says he hasn't handed out pot, nor grown any in his cramped office on Northeast 50th Street just off University Way Northeast.

But Tuesday afternoon, Seattle police, armed with a search warrant, carted away marijuana and hundreds of private patient files, and tore down a wall in search of a marijuana patch that didn't exist.

King County prosecutors say the raid was justified. Martinez's neighbors have been complaining about a pervasive smell of pot, they said, so authorities need to figure out whether Martinez has been breaking the law.

But the episode has Martinez frustrated and his attorney furious. They accuse the police and prosecutors of being overzealous and refusing to honor the law that is supposed to let sick people use pot in peace. At a minimum, Martinez says, the authorities should let the whole thing blow over — and return his stuff.

"We're trying desperately to be legal, to stay alive and not have these conflicts," Martinez said. "Science and law have to come to terms, because the doctors are recommending cannabis and the police have got to get on the same page."
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7 comments // Pot raid angers medical-marijuana supporters

  • hollowman218
  • covert1
    • 0
      covert1  

    • We have waged a 70 year prohibition on this substance, and I would say that it looks like a losing battle. How much more money are we willing to spend investigating, arresting, and incarcerating these generally non-violent criminals?

    • 1 year ago
  • JudahEvan
    • 0
      JudahEvan  

    • The police in this instance are actually harming the population of medical marijuana users that they swear an oath to protect because of the very fact that these people with sickness are using marijuana. This is a health issue primarily, the hypocrisy of our social fabric and our laws don't even come into play here. We need an overhaul of all the laws pertaining to the "War on Drugs." California style referendums, though often counterproductive and limiting, have proved most helpful for this cause. Ballot initiatives are the only way we will move forward.

    • 1 year ago
  • flyingkick
    • 0
      flyingkick  

    • That sucks.
      The cops know they can't stick any crime on this guy, so what they are doing is trying to bankrupt him by confiscating his product. That's how they've been doing it for while. A small place like that can only take one or two raids before they gotta close shop.

    • 1 year ago
  • Psychedelic
    • 0
      Psychedelic  

    • Police should be focused on preventing HIV, helping the homeless find places to live, keeping kids off the streets at night and disbursing gang activity. This is a shame indeed.

    • 1 year ago
  • brad149
  • CarolynGillis
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