About Steve Sarich

[kemp_l]

Originally Posted by Ken Martin Jr.

Sorry for the cross posting, this actually should have its own thread. But, SteveS called and he's not in jail! In fact, he was in good spirits after attending the "meeting" today. He said that he will post all the details when he gets back to Seattle tonight. Once again, SteveS has our backs. KMJ.

Can't wait to hear steves report. Good he is not in jail and in good spirits..good sign?

yes Steve has our backs but,,,,,,Who has Steves back?

[SteveS]

The forces of good have proven once again that we can defeat evil. Unfortunately, we have to watch them constantly because they know no moral bounds and they don't believe the law applies to them.

The Meeting that wasn't a "meeting"....
After pushing daily for an answer on why the "60 day supply" draft had not been released, and not getting any believable answers, I contacted Bill White...the Deputy Director of the DOH. (Pretty much everyone else had been told not to speak with me and to keep their mouths shut). Bill, however, had little or no contact with the "60 day supply" issue and didn't even know my name. He was willing to talk (though I should point out that someone slapped him hard within the first 24 hours after he talked to me and after that he insisted that any communication with me be via email and not by phone).

It was Bill that first dropped the bombshell about a "private" meeting that was being arranged between certain members of the DOH, the prosecutors' association, the Sheriff's and police association, the ACLU, Senator Kohl-Wells, Joanna McKee (Green Cross), and other unnamed parties. He told me that Karen Jensen was in charge of organizing this meeting. He told me that the meeting was being organized to see if there couldn't be some compromise agreement negotiated between the community and law enforcement on the 60 day supply amounts. The powers that be thought that the 35 ounces was far to high and that maybe Joanna would compromise on a lower number.

I called Karen Jensen to find out more about this apparently secret meeting. By the time I reached her, she was already aware that Bill White had spilled the proverbial beans and she couldn't deny anymore that it was happening or what the purpose of the meeting was...it was clearly a secret negotiation. The other thing that she made clear was that I wasn't invited!

That was when a few of us started planning a strategy for assuring that we didn't get sold down the river. One strategy to stop the meeting was to get Joanna McKee to decline the invitation. We did get Dr. Greg Carter to decline their offer. He, by the way, was not invited until Friday night at 7:30...obviously an afterthought.

Joanna refused to boycott the meeting out of loyalty to Senator Kohl-Wells and the Governor. So we had to go to plan B. I contacted Carol Ostrom at the Seattle Times and alerted her to this secret, behind closed doors, meeting that violated both the administrative rule-making process and open meeting law. Carol called to see if SHE was going to be able to come (and if not, she offered to use the Seattle Times attorney to get an invite or stop the meeting).

By now, this secret meeting was becoming anything BUT secret. Next the DOH told the Olympian newspaper that the DOH had decided to open this meeting, but the original invitees would be in one room and the rest of us (apparently the "B-listers" and rabble-rousers) would located in a second room and get to watch on closed circuit TV. Just as a side note, they were obviously expecting trouble. They had hired three uniformed security guards for crowd control and we found one more, in plain clothes, that had been hiding in the audience.

We, needless to say, didn't trust the DOH and speculated that they might try to reschedule the meeting for earlier in the day to make sure that we showed up late. We were prepared. Adam Assenberg (a member here) went down the night before and had the building under surveillance by 9am. A security guard for the building gave him an inaccurate piece of information that indicated that the meeting was scheduled for 10am! Two more "sentries" responded immediately and arrived there by 9:45. I raced to Oly as fast as I could without ending up in jail. I arrived by 10:20. By this time we had discovered that the security guy was mistaken and the meeting was still on for 3pm. We regrouped at Jim Flynn's house to plan strategy, then we headed out for sushi before heading for the meeting. I wanted to be well fed in case my next meal was courtesy of Thurston County. I did take bail money with me.

When we got to the meeting, and we shown to the room by the security guards, we were surprised to find that they had put all of us into one room instead of two. At this point, we all felt a lot better about the situation.

The room was nearly full, which was a surprise to us. Many of the people there were wearing badges that identified them as a "Policy Advisor". Karen Jensen opened the meeting by letting us know that this "event" was NOT a "meeting". (As a meeting it would have been illegal since it was not announced to the public in advance). It would have also been illegal under 34.05 (the law that governs how administrative hearing are to be held). So she explained that the event was actually a "conversation". How creative...like you don't have conversations at meeting? We have to be careful when we ask them for information "events". They could be called "picnics", "pot-lucks", "meet-and-greets", "get togethers" or perhaps tupperware parties.

There were three reporters there, including Carol Ostrom from the Times. At this point we figured the jig was up. The whole idea of having this secret "conversation" was to negotiate a number more favorable to law enforcement and to do it out of the public eye. This new public format, that we forced them into, would put an end to that idea.

On top of those previously mentioned, there was an attorney on the panel, a legislative policy guy from the DOH, Brian Peyton, and Dr. Bob Wood. When Jensen opened the meeting she appeared flustered and confused about what to say about why everyone was gathered there. She admitted that the meeting had no written agenda (secret meetings never have written agendas...those get discovered later and are then called "evidence").

With no agenda, she just asked everyone to take turns speaking. She started with Joanna McKee and then went on to Dr. Wood. Both gave rather rambling speeches for roughly half an hour, but both agreed that the number should be 71 ounces. Senator Kohl-Wells had really nothing to say that had any substance. She told the same old stories about friends and relatives with cancer. The mystery attorney and Mr. Peyton declined to make any comment, which made us wonder what their contribution would have been if the meeting had remained secret.

This whole time, Don Pierce (Washington Association of Sheriff's and Police Chiefs) and Tom McBride (Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys), sat there looking like they just came from the funeral for their favorite pet. When called on, they had to stick with the public "party line" that they had been throwing out to the press. Basically they were not going to suggest and amount...and they were asked several times. They are stuck between a rock and a very hard place. If they suggest an amount, they are going to be asked what medical/scientific evidence they were basing that number on and what personal expertise they had to be making that decision.

The outcome.....

We will now push for the 71 ounces that was recommended in the Carter study since law enforcement didn't disagree with that number. If the DOH suggests this number, law enforcement cannot oppose that at the final hearings...not after saying in the media that they had no expertise and were not going to support or oppose a particular number.

The outcome was viewed by all as a "win" for our side. They won't get away with another "secret meeting" or even another "conversation". They are now forced to return to the process. They will issue a draft proposal by July 1st for public response, followed by public hearings. Whatever the number is on July, it's not likely to go down following the public hearings since the law enforcement is stuck with their public statements that they don't care about the numbers. The number will only go up. Chances are the hearings won't change a thing.

We just need to keep up our vigil now. We'll be checking with the DOH for any upcoming "picnics" that might be planned between now and July 1st.

Steve

[Medicinal]

Right On Steve! Thanks again for everything, after speaking with you last Sunday, I felt that all of us are so lucky to have you on our side!

71 Oz.? I have to go read the Carter Study now. All in all, great news.

Remember, I still owe you lunch when you get some time.

Medicinal

[HappyDayz]

Outstanding! Just what I needed this morning. A good news shot in the arm! Thanks Steve.

~HD

[Ken Martin Jr.]

Yes indeed, SteveS has again stood up for MMJ patients rights. Throwing caution to the wind, he knowingly risked incarceration to attend the DOH meeting yesterday. His attendance represents his continuing commitment to the MMJ patients of this state. Thank you SteveS for all you do. KMJ.

[jahkaya]

This whole time, Don Pierce (Washington Association of Sheriff's and Police Chiefs) and Tom McBride (Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys), sat there looking like they just came from the funeral for their favorite pet. When called on, they had to stick with the public "party line" that they had been throwing out to the press. Basically they were not going to suggest and amount...and they were asked several times. They are stuck between a rock and a very hard place. If they suggest an amount, they are going to be asked what medical/scientific evidence they were basing that number on and what personal expertise they had to be making that decision.



That made me feel the best. knowing, they had no data, they could only just sit there and watch. Now if only they would call off their minions. A few high profile lawsuits should do it. if all counties held to 71/99...that would be heavenly.

[kemp_l]

All I can say is Right Freekin on...I really love it when the tide is turned, A wrong is set right, and a secret is let out of the bag...It sounds like we may be getting our point across. So know we start pushing the 71 oz and settle for 70 I LIKE IT!!!

So to make a short story,, It backfired and thank you Steve...

[Johnny Pot Seed]

Sounds like good news. I'm not gonna pop the champaign yet. ...july 1

[scooter74]

allright!good work steve!i wish i could have been there but being on the east side makes it a little difficult.im glad you are there fighting for the rights of law abiding citizens.kudos.

[SteveS]

We aren't out of the woods yet, but at least we can see the clearing up ahead now.