Yesterday morning, Bruce Olson was acquitted of all charges against him. I’ve been following his case (and his wife’s case) for almost a year, and seeing a jury rule in his favor was extremely satisfying. I’ve never met Bruce personally, but I know several people who have, and each of them were certain of his innocence. Yesterday’s verdict makes it abundantly clear that there were no hidden surprises about what he was doing. Bruce and Pamela Olson were the couple that everyone knew them to be, law abiding citizens growing plants that both of them (and their doctor) had discovered to have medicinal value.
When the Olsons were raided back in 2007, the WestNET drug task force initially threw poisoned meat into their yard, presumably to ensure that their dogs wouldn’t be a hindrance to their invasion. Their two puppies required roughly $2000 in vet bills. At the time of the invasion, the Olsons had no plants that were harvestable (it was their first attempt at growing), yet they were being threatened by Kitsap County prosecutors with very serious drug distribution charges. In the effort to fight these bogus charges, they wound up having to sell their home and move into an RV.
The Kitsap County Prosecutor’s motivations in this case remain largely a mystery. There hasn’t been any information provided about their one “witness,” a longtime drug user named Steven Kenney, who was flown up from Oklahoma for the trial and whose story was clearly not believed by jurors. Where did he actually come from? Did he stand to gain anything from his testimony? The prosecutor explained his discredited testimony by saying that he was “nervous.” Hell, I’d be nervous too if I were perjuring myself.
Considering how Pamela Olson’s case unfolded, there should be even more concern about the behavior of Russ Hauge and the Kitsap County Prosecutor’s Office. Pamela was threatened with jail time if she didn’t take a plea bargain. She feared having to go to prison, so she took the deal, even though the verdict this week makes it clear that she was innocent all along (both Bruce and Pamela were tried separately for the same offense stemming from the same raid). Now she has a criminal record and is still unable to use medical marijuana according to the State Department of Corrections’ policy for those on probation. And since this trial has started getting attention, we’ve been learning of even more Kitsap County patients who have ended up in the same boat.
As I’ve written about in the past, this kind of heavy-handed behavior from prosecutors and drug task forces is not that uncommon, although some of the more alarming incidents we’ve seen across the country have generally involved a racial component. A new movie coming out soon called American Violet is based on the story of Regina Kelly, a black woman arrested along with 28 others in Hearne, Texas. Most, if not all, of those arrested were innocent, but many of them took plea deals to get reduced sentences. Kelly didn’t, and was ultimately successful in exposing the corruption.
What’s happening in Kitsap County right now isn’t quite that pernicious, but Hauge is using the same kinds of scare tactics in order to force plea deals that keep the people he’s targeting out of the courtroom – where a jury might discover that they don’t belong there. One of those people, a quadriplegic named Glenn Musgrove, is scheduled to be wheeled into a courtroom in Port Orchard on Friday.
For a while now, activists and patients within the medical marijuana community have been referring to Kitsap County as “Kidnap County.” Now we have a better idea why. The state’s medical marijuana laws are not being honored by the Prosecutor’s office. Patients who try to grow their own plants have been arrested, presumed to be drug dealers, and forced to prove otherwise to a jury – often at great personal expense. This is not how the law is supposed to work, and I hope that Kitsap County residents remember that the next time they vote for their county prosecutor.
Finally, it’s important to look at the actions of the WestNET drug task force. These sorts of drug task forces exist on the premise that rural areas don’t have the resources to adequately enforce drug laws. Unfortunately, these drug task forces tend to be very common places for overzealous policing and outright corruption. Even worse, the Obama Administration has decided to increase funding for these units in the stimulus bill.
Why the WestNET drug task force is being used to bust medical marijuana patients (and finds nothing wrong with poisoning their dogs) rather than trying to go after real criminals is a question that they – and Prosecutor Hauge – need to answer.
Lee, Great post on a very important issue. Posts like this is why I visit HorsesAss.org everyday.
Oh, those silly Olsons! They thought that in Bush’s America, just because a law gave them certain rights, they actually had those rights!
@2:
Is Hauge a (D) or (R)?
Hmmm, no medical marijuana patient should feel smug about this verdict; Olson got a large dose of luck when his case was assigned to a rookie prosecutor winging her first jury trial.
Glad to hear about the acquittal. Port Orchard is a backward shithole.
This is nothing new in Kitsap county. It has been going on since the late 70’s when I was an attorney there. There used to be a few sailors passing a joint around on the fantail of a ship and all would be busted for “supplying” a controlled substance. Narks would play up to a lonely girl until they convinced them to buy something for their habit then but then bust them for selling. Finally the old prosecutor was tossed out by his own party and the new one elected in the primary. It seems little has changed.
3
Hauge is a D. And, his surname would indicate he is Norwegian. I’m doubly embarrassed. I have voted for the guy as a Kitsap resident. I don’t get this nonsense. I’m pleased a jury did its job. That doesn’t happen all that often given the way that the mainstream media tells people–the jury pool–that criminal defendants and civil plaintiffs are wrong, regardless.
Lee, what kind of love letter should I send Russ? Your coverage of this trial has kind of pissed me off. Though I practice civil law, I don’t like seeing frivolous criminal prosecutions. (You could respond privately–get my email address from Goldy–I don’t like my County Prosecutor pursuing this crap.) Even conservatives should inquire why taxpayer dollars are being spent on such matters.
Reid May Fast Track Health Care Reform
The Associated Press reports tonight that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid suggested he might use a parliamentary maneuver to pass health care reform which would bypass a potential GOP filibuster and require only 51 votes for passage. House Democrats say they support the idea. I do, too — why should a minority party that got pounded in the last two congressional elections be allowed to thwart the will of the overwhelming majority of American workers who think our health care system sucks and needs to be reformed?
8
Fuck ’em. Let’s do it.
@7
Lee, what kind of love letter should I send Russ?
Just send a well-reasoned letter. Not much else you can do. A lot of these guys just aren’t all that interested in what the public thinks.
My email is at the top of this post, feel free to drop me a line any time.
This thread reminded me that I’d never even looked up whether Hauge was a Republican or a Democrat.
Hi all,
Great work Lee. You deserve a big hand for following these miserable stories and shining a light on the bad guys.
The prosecution of this case creates a lense through which to view the notion that there aren’t easy savings to be found by cutting government waste.
Except calling these prosecutions government waste is much too kind.
Thx,
New Left Conservative # 1
@7, thank you for answering. I noticed @2 went on their way without answering.
I asked the question because @2 was blaming Republicans for this prosecution fiasco @7.
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They thought that in Bush’s America, just because a law gave them certain rights, they actually had those rights!
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I wondered per @2 if the Kitsap Prosecutor was as draconian as @2 claimed, I expected Hauge to have an (R) next to his name. Now I see the @7 proved it is a (D) next to his name. Kitsap voted for the president in high numbers in the 2008 election.
@2, Hauge is a Democrat per @7. Looks like Hauge is a draconian Democrat. Why didn’t you research Hauge first @2? Why did you assert otherwise?
@12
Are you saying Bush wasn’t president in 2007?
Gosh …
The system worked!
@13
No. How did you get that inference?
Well, I’m all for total legalization of marijuana. It should be treated just like beer, wine and booze.
I’m glad Bruce Olson was found not guilty. Maybe some sanity is starting to creep into these crazy laws and the ridiculous “war” on drugs.
Now, the prosecutor and all the cops involved should have to surrender their personal wealth and retirement funds to pay for Mr. Olson’s legal bills and to return his to the home he lost as a result of this out-back Nazi persecution.
@16 Pol Inc
Much as Lee and I are often at odds, I would even go further. Alcohol and certainly whiskey is a hell of a lot more dangerous than pot. Try killing yourself with marijuana any way except weaving a rope and hanging yourself!
Marijuana probably could be safely sold, in reasonable quantities, as a common part of prepared foods. I would certainly prefer to find marijuana in my brownies over zucchini (something my wife loves).
I think the main obstacle to legalization is credibility. My impression is that an effort to simply legalize the stuff would be met by fear .. fear motivated by decades of antiscientific government propaganda.
That fear is why I worry when Lee and other advocates misstate the science to claim that MJ is a miracle drug. By doing so they come across as not much less nutty than the other side.
Maybe a good step would be to pass a law REQUIRING scientific evidence before a drug can be controlled and allowing Lee and his crew to sue. I would love to read abuot that experience.
Busting Medical Marijuana users is cheap and easy work for DEA types.
Too bad they, and others, can’t go after the real criminals that threaten us.
Follow the Money: The “war on drugs” is big business. Between Fed dollars and confiscation auctions some enforcers have motivations other than arresting criminals.
@18 Sam
So what?
A law is a law. Sodomy, gambling, speed traps, bigamy, MJ, same old same old.
Lee,
Cram this in your pipe and smoke it dumbass. One of the only good decisions “O” has made, which suprised me. Better fire one up in your sorrow. Enjoy!
http://www.comcast.net/article.....MARIJUANA/
Roger Rabbit, no answer to my request @12?
Hi all,
Actually, alcohol is the ONLY drug associated with a massively high risk of traffic fatalities. It turns out you can be stoned on marajuana, high or low on heroin, coked out, or speeding on meth and none of that translates into excess traffic crash risk the way alcohol does. And yet alcohol is the only legal drug of those mentioned. Isn’t that strange?
No, it’s not strange, it’s stupid, like everything about the war on drugs.
Best wishes,
Beer-drinker only & New Left Conservative # 1
@21:
Quote your sources asshole; ’till then shut your mouth.
@22
Good luck getting that info.
Make that @22 from my post at @23.