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Thursday, May 20, 2010

News Drug Task Force Seizes Pot Petitions

Posted by Dominic Holden on Thu, May 20, 2010 at 3:51 PM

Organizers of Sensible Washington, a campaign behind Initiative 1068 to legalize marijuana in Washington, say that a drug task force seized about a dozen signed copies of the petitions in a raid of an alleged medical-marijuana dispensary last week. Now Philip Dawdy, a leader of the group behind the initiative, says it can't get any assurances the 200 signatures will be returned. According to Dawdy, a detective told him, "We don't even know if we've got them, we'd have to go through the boxes, and we seized a lot of stuff."

"I said, 'We know you've got 'em,'" says Dawdy.

The notoriously aggressive drug task force, WestNet, is made up of local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies and based out of Kitsap County. Deputy Scott Wilson of the Kitsap County Sheriff's office confirms that the "search warrant took place last week" but says he has "no idea" if WestNet has the petitions. "They are their own entity."

Sergeant Carlos Rodriguez of WestNet did not immediately return a call to comment.

"Things like this have a chilling impact on what we are trying to do when we collect signatures," Dawdy says. "They get a little paranoid, and maybe legitimately so." More info is here.

Comments (13) RSS

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Insane.

Posted by I Got Nuthin' on May 20, 2010 at 4:08 PM

Creepy as fuck.

Posted by Josh Bomb

on May 20, 2010 at 4:13 PM

i before e is not an absolute truth.

Posted by qwer on May 20, 2010 at 4:22 PM

@ 3) Indeed it's not. Thanks.

Posted by Dominic Holden on May 20, 2010 at 4:32 PM

Hey how about finding out how much King County is blowing on shit like this while they want to ask us for more money for crime and justice? I wonder how it compares and how much the county could save by simply declining to enforce say marijuana laws.

Posted by giffy on May 20, 2010 at 4:48 PM

Why do they hate our Freedoms so very very much?

Set the petitions free!

Posted by Will in Seattle

on May 20, 2010 at 5:20 PM

AG Rob McKenna just argued before the US Supreme Court in the Doe v. Reed case that signing an initiative petition is a legislative act as per Art 2 of the Washington Constitution. Thus the drug agents who seized the petitions are interfering with a constitutionally-protected legislative procedure. Paging AG McKenna...

Posted by Lurleen on May 20, 2010 at 7:24 PM

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Posted by Furcifer on May 20, 2010 at 10:38 PM

@8: Always a great read. Thanks, Furcifer.

Posted by OuterCow on May 20, 2010 at 11:47 PM

@8 I smell Federal lawsuits unless they hand over the papers.

Posted by Joe Szilagyi

on May 21, 2010 at 7:14 AM

@8 you're misinterpreting the meaning of "petition". what you refer to is the freedom to lobby and complain to government officials. in the present case, the petitions are a legislative instrument.

Posted by Lurleen on May 21, 2010 at 10:45 AM

SUE THEM. This is a blatant violation of civil and political rights and there is no way it can be considered anything but. Cases like this are the reason tort exists. SUE THEM.

Posted by I have always been... east coaster on May 21, 2010 at 10:58 PM

@11 so you're arguing the government should be allowed to take petitions so long as they are only legislative grounds? Or just that the specific line is probably not the exact line they'd use? I'm more than willing to bet a jury isn't going to give a fuck, because I sure as hell don't. Take their marijuana, that's one thing, but take their legislative petitions and then act like they might not have them, fail.

Posted by watchout5