Dumping a Rape Case, and Its Victim Part 2; State of Washington v. Patrick J. McAllister

Dumping a Rape Case, and Its Victim Part 2; State of Washington v. Patrick J. McAllister

by | Aug 27, 2018 | Politics

This is the second installment in our investigation of how Jefferson County Prosecutor Micahel Haas handled the case of State of Washington v. Patrick J. McAllister.  Our first report is here:  Part 1.   Also relevant:  The Questions Michael Haas Won’t Answer.

The rape victim did not object to her accused rapist being released without bond.  Hard to believe this could come from the same woman who says that man had raped and assaulted her repeatedly and she lived in constant fear of him.

It made it sound like perhaps she wasn’t telling the truth about what had happened in that small Brinnon house in April 2010.

But that’s what Prosecutor Michael Haas told the court when Patrick McAllister was being arraigned in the Fall of 2017.  He had been convicted five years earlier of 31 counts of the rape and assault of SL, a young Filipino woman he had brought into the country to be his wife.  He was sentenced to 250 months imprisonment.  After a series of appeals upholding his conviction, a panel of the Court of Appeals reversed and sent the matter back to Jefferson County Superior Court. Haas assigned himself the retrial.  He knew the case.  He had lost the argument in the Court of Appeals.

Had SL’s fear dissipated that she cared so little about McAllister being released from custody?  We asked her.

She said when she learned from a victim advocate that McAllister had been released, “I felt like I was in the ocean, being taken out, away into the water.”

But had she told Haas she did not object to a no-bail release for McAllister?

“No! He never talk with me until a little before the deposition.”

That deposition, in which Haas allowed an investigator hired by McAllister’s lawyer to interrogate SL about her current boyfriend (eight years after the incident), a boyfriend in the Philippines before the alleged rapes and the age at which her menstruation began, occurred March 16, 2018.

One Way Street to Dismissal

According to SL and a review of Haas’ emails, he let eight months pass before he spoke with her.  He refused her request to meet in person to help her prepare for a deposition about events she had spent years trying to forget.

But Haas had plenty of communication and friendly lunches with McAllister’s defense lawyer, John Cain of Tacoma. They hit it off after meeting at the Court of Appeals in May 2017.  Their relationship went beyond the professional respect of men who were supposed to be adversaries.  Haas gave Cain and his investigator a tour of the courthouse clocktower.  Cain offered to help Haas build a Wikipedia page.  They shared stories of their personal medical challenges. In an email dated March 23, Cain thanks Haas for a gift of cheese.

Cain offered to buy Haas lunch after SL’s deposition, “My treat.”  Haas joked, “I love to eat—probably too much.”

Haas once joked he hoped to kick Cain’s ass at trial.  Cain, who is decades older and more experienced, sent him a video clip from The Seven Samurai in which a master swordsman cautions an upstart novice not to challenge him with real steel, only to have to kill the fool when he did not back off.  The message was not lost on Haas.  He quickly apologized, saying he hoped he “had not come across as that arrogant.”

It was as though Haas were trying to please McAllister’s attorney.  He spent nearly a year filling defense requests, apologizing when he was tardy.  The correspondence fails to show a single instance of Haas building his own case.  He made not a single request of the defense.  He never objected to anything the defense wanted.  Instead, from the beginning he undermined the prosecution, telling Cain he doubted his case and would consider prosecuting SL for perjury—without ever having spoken with her.

Haas agreed to orders drafted by Cain that took effect unless SL came to court and filed her own objections to stop personal and intimate records from being disclosed.  He agreed to a defense request for Dove House domestic violence shelter records without bothering to first check with Dove House and learn domestic violence shelters were protected under a specific statute.  Dove House was forced to hire its own lawyer.  The executive director sent a letter to the court excoriating Haas for being poorly informed about Washington law.

Haas agreed to let the defense have photographs of SL’s genitals, taken at her sexual assault examination, without any prohibition against the photos being seen by her accused rapist.  SL only learned at her deposition that the photographs had been turned over.

When Cain got what he wanted he flattered Haas.  For instance, after Haas agreed to the order for disclosure of Dove House records—which put the onus on SL to bring her own motion if she objected—Cain told Haas, “The citizens of Jefferson County really do not know how luck[y] they are to have a prosecutor who cooperates with Defense on matters such as this.” “You’re too kind,” Haas responded.

Meanwhile, Haas never told SL or her sister, whom Haas listed as a witness for his case-in-chief, to make arrangements to come to Port Townsend for trial.  SL’s sister lives 3,000 miles away.

Cain worked Haas incessantly, insisting the McAllister was an innocent man who deserved to be left alone.  He attacked SL’s veracity and integrity, called Haas’ predecessor “corrupt,” and suggested that the Sheriff’s office was hiding information, not only from the defense, but from Haas as well.

Not once did Haas point out that McAllister would have a rough time if he took the stand and was anything but an innocent man.  McAllister had a federal conviction for lying to immigration authorities when he brought SL into the country.  He had pled guilty.  He had admitted to being a liar.  McAllister had denied assaulting two other woman only to be proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.  He was subject to protective orders from four other women, was alleged to have raped three more he picked up at AA meetings, had been arrested for rape in Kitsap County, and had a string of other convictions for assault, theft and resisting arrest in Pierce County, Oregon and elsewhere. Only about a year had passed between McAllister pleading guilty to assault with sexual motivation and SL calling 911 for police to get her out of his house, the same house where that earlier sexual assault had occurred. (More on this in a coming installment).

McAllister’s house, as it appeared in 2015

March 6, 2018, Haas Finally Speaks with SL

With trial around the corner, when he finally did speak to SL, Haas discovered that she just might be telling the truth.  He emailed Cain that “she came across as very credible.”  Haas had been on the verge of dismissing.  Now he couldn’t.  SL would come for a deposition, even though he would not meet her beforehand to help her prepare.  “For better or worse,” he told his opposing counsel, the case was going to trial.

But he was soon back to undermining a case he had not prepared for trial.  In moving for dismissal, he told the court he “could not ignore” a polygraph examination of McAllister that showed him passing, even though the results could not be admitted into evidence and he had been cautioned by the Sheriff’s polygraph expert not to rely on the results in making any decision (something Haas did not share with the court).  On April 25, by email, he notified SL he was dropping all charges against Patrick McAllister.

When a victim advocate reached her with the news, SL remembers asking, “Can I have another prosecutor?”

Next:  Alone and Unprotected

To read the full series, here all the installments:

Part I of Dumping a Rape Case and Its Victim

Part II:  Just read the story above

Part III Alone and Unprotected

The Conclusion on how Haas threw away evidence that McAllister’s defense was a fraud

Also: The Questions Michael Haas Won’t Answer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dumping a Rape Case, and Its Victim Part 2; State of Washington v. Patrick J. McAllister

Dumping a Rape Case, and Its Victim; State of Washington v. Patrick J. McAllister

by | Aug 18, 2018 | Politics

On April 26, 2018, in the midst of his reelection campaign, Jefferson County Prosecutor Michael Haas dismissed a rape case rather than take it to trial.  It is the case of SL, a 21-year old Filipino woman brought into this country by a Brinnon man 26 years older.  Court records reveal he had prior convictions for assaulting two women and was subject to restraining orders protecting four others.  After she arrived at his home in 2010, SL says he raped and beat her repeatedly.

A jury had little difficulty believing her.  It returned a guilty verdict on 31 counts of rape and assault.  The man was sentenced to 250 months in jail.  His conviction was upheld by the Washington Court of Appeals and denied review by the Washington Supreme Court.

In 2017 he was released after another panel of the Court of Appeals concluded his trial counsel had been ineffective and the defense had not been given a page in a police report that contradicted parts of SL’s testimony.

The case of State of Washington versus Patrick McAllister was sent back to Jefferson County Superior Court in August 2017.  Prosecutor Haas assigned himself responsibility for the retrial.  Eight months passed before he spoke to SL about the facts of her case.

Haas’s re-election is being opposed by one of the prosecutors who left Haas’s office, which has seen a 130% turnover in staff.  James Kennedy, now a prosecutor in Clallam County, has made Haas’ handling of the McAllister case an issue in the campaign.

Challenger James Kennedy

Months ago we filed a public records request for all communications between Haas and McAllister’s defense attorney.  We did not receive the last installment, comprising 900 pages, until the day after the primary election, which showed Haas trailing Kennedy by double digits.  We have reviewed the court files and the victim’s deposition. We have spoken with the victim, her brother, and the former prosecutor who succeeded in convicting McAllister in his first trial.  We have spoken with other people who participated in the case, some off the record as their employment situation prevents them from speaking publicly.

Kennedy’s charges (click here) are serious enough.

We found that Haas’ mishandling of the case and his treatment of the victim were worse than Kennedy alleged.

Our report will be released in installments. Haas has not answered any of our questions.  His emails, text messages and court documents will speak for him.

The victim’s name will not be published. She has built a new life and a career outside Jefferson County.  She wanted this case prosecuted again even though Haas’ behavior led her to question his commitment.

In their first conversation, Haas asked her to travel to the defense lawyer’s office in Tacoma for a highly irregular pre-trial deposition.  She wanted to meet in advance, but Haas rebuffed her request. She showed up unprepared.  She was questioned for hours by an investigator and the lawyer for the accused rapist about matters prohibited under the state’s rape shield laws.  Haas never objected.  The deposition lasted over four hours—without a lunchbreak—and ended when Haas said he had an appointment in Port Townsend.

The defense lawyer wanted her back for more questioning.  Haas consented and requested a date from her.  She offered a Saturday when she would not be working.  Before rushing back to Port Townsend, Haas told her he found her courageous and believed her.  He assured her there would at least be a plea bargain. She would get some justice.  The second deposition never occurred.  That was the first and last time she saw the man who was supposed to be prosecuting her rapist.

She heard no more from Haas.  She says she called his office and personal cell phone repeatedly.  She had her brother try. He says Haas ignored him.  She says when she managed to get Haas on the line, he said he was at dinner with his wife and could not talk.  Another time he said he was unable to speak because he was with his children.  She says he called when he knew she’d be at work.  They set a time to talk.  Haas did not keep that appointment.

Then she got “an email bomb” from Haas. Patrick McAllister, previously found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of raping and assaulting her, a man with a long record of violently abusing women, could rest easy.  Haas was dropping all charges.  In the email Haas said he believed her.  But Haas told the court he believed McAllister.

“I never expected the man who was supposed to be on my side,” SL says, “to be the one to do this.”

Next:  A One-Way Street on the Way to Dismissal.  You can read that story by clicking here.

Also relevant:  The Questions Michael Haas Won’t Answer

 

 

Now Showing – Desperation Over Pleasant Harbor

by | Jul 31, 2018 | Politics

[The South Speaks Back: Quick Retort from the Brinnon Group] 

One way to gauge desperation is through rhetoric. The more unhinged someone’s language, the more they know they’re losing. Facts are supplanted by accusations. Emotion displaces intelligence. We’ve all been subjected to these shows performed on the national stage and now, that same poorly reviewed production is touring Jefferson County.

 

The lead player in this Way-Off-Broadway farce is a thing called the Brinnon Group. It has filed a petition in Kitsap County Superior Court to block the Pleasant Harbor Master Planned Resort (MPR) in Brinnon, which was green-lighted by the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners on June 5.

 

The curtain rises with a 28-page filing asking the court to invalidate, remand or otherwise rule that two Jefferson County development ordinances connected to the Pleasant Harbor MPR are inadequate. The petition also asks the court to stay the decade-long process even longer so the Brinnon Group can file another appeal with the Growth Management Hearings Board.

 

In short, the people who failed to stop the Pleasant Harbor project at the Board of Commissioners level now want a judge in a neighboring county to rule that Jefferson County’s ordinances are flawed. The language in the petition is as sober as you’d expect, but the messaging from the Brinnon Group lacks the filing’s probity.

 

The plot thickens. A spokesperson for the group accused County Commissioner Kathleen Kler of having “intentionally suppressed,” a July, 2016, Planning Commission report on the MPR. In truth, that information was discussed during a public session with the staff of the Department of Community Development. The information was, and remains available, on the county’s website.

 

Other sins alleged by the Brinnon Group include County Administrator Philip Morley being less than forthcoming about an August, 2016, “vision” document involving a possible partnership between the government and the Statesman Group, the company that wants to develop Pleasant Harbor. This accusation might be interesting were it not for the fact that this document was never submitted and subsequently dropped.

 

The Brinnon Group spokesperson said it was “shocking” how many people in Brinnon don’t know about the Pleasant Harbor MPR, which has been under consideration for the past decade. Apparently, 10 years wasn’t enough time for the Brinnon Group to inform the 800 local residents that a developer wants to build a bunch of houses, condos and a golf course in the neighborhood. Another complaint is that public meetings on this matter of county governance were held in the county seat. Seems the Brinnon Group couldn’t motivate enough people to attend enough meetings over the previous decade.

 

The Brinnon Group is also upset because the county didn’t do things that are not required. Jefferson County officials did everything that was required of them in processing the MPR but didn’t do some other stuff that’s not required. The net net, according to the Brinnon Group, is that “the people of Brinnon don’t matter.”

 

People don’t matter. Shocking unawareness. Intentionally suppressed information. It’s a dramatic story arc. All that’s missing from this absurd script is Russian collusion and payoffs to porn stars.

 

My curiosity piqued, I called the Brinnon Group spokesperson who explained that the imputations have, “no bearing on the appeal.” The official also asked to revise and extend their earlier comments by claiming the hitherto “suppressed” information was merely, “ignored or disregarded.”

 

During our chat, the spokesperson referred most of my questions to the group’s website. I then asked how much money the Brinnon Group raised last year and the source of their contributions because that information is not on the group’s website. “I don’t want to continue this interview,” was the reply after which the phone line went dead.

 

Having worked as a spokesman for a variety of interests, I have an organic affinity for my fellow practitioners so as a professional courtesy, I shan’t identify this Brinnon Group spokesperson. It’s bad form to embarrass a fellow flack by name.

 

According to Charity Navigator, the Brinnon Group’s most recent IRS Form 990 from December showed zero assets, zero income and zero revenue for 2017. They must have some very good friends somewhere because a partner at the Seattle law firm that drafted the Kitsap County Superior Court petition for them has a published billable rate of $275 – $325 an hour. Perhaps it’s pro bono work. If not, it’s nice to see the Brinnon Group doing its part to support Seattle’s 1 Percent.

 

There’s even confusion over its location. The website says the Brinnon Group is located in Brinnon, but its court filing says it’s in Granite Falls, which is 99 miles from Brinnon (it’s only 82.9 miles if you take the ferry from Edmunds).

 

This from a group accusing others of suppressing information.

 

It all adds up to unhinged desperation from people who know they’re losing. The Brinnon Group didn’t prevail on the MPR, so this conga line of buffoons is reduced to making up stuff and pitching the litigious equivalent of a temper tantrum.

 

This is the show that’s playing near you, complete with a cast of local talent. It’s an extended engagement so you can expect performances to run for some time. Given the pace at which Pleasant Harbor is advancing, this could be a longer running show than Phantom of the Opera.

 

Scott Hogenson is a resident of Jefferson County. He testified before the Jefferson County Commissioners on April 9 in favor of the Pleasant Harbor development. 

[Editor’s note:  We invited the Brinnon Group to respond.  They quickly accepted]

Brinnon Group Says Know Us Before You Judge Us
by Mark Rose
Hogenson’s intention was to write a right-wing hit piece and that’s what he did. Nasty too. “Conga line of buffoons?” Why would you say that about people you never met? My only regret is that I didn’t end our ‘interview’ sooner. He’s behaving like a shill for the developer who seeks to divide us and attack the Brinnon Group, instead of the merits of our appeal. We’re used to being disparaged by Port Townsend and Port Ludlow people who don’t bother to get to know us, and think they know what’s best for us. If you want to know who the Brinnon Group is then come to our event August 25, 11 AM – 4 PM at world-famous Whitney Gardens in Brinnon. We’ll have music, food, art, crafts, a silent auction. It’s wonderful to see the community coming together for this event on short notice. Most of the businesses in Brinnon will be represented at this event, which is sponsored by the Brinnon Group. Hogenson is new to Jefferson County. I have some advice – chill, bro. Go kayaking. Go for a hike. You wear your anger like it’s an east coast badge of honor. More info on Celebrate Brinnon! can be found at brinnoninfo.com or the Facebook events page. Come see the Brinnon you never knew! The South is rising!

 

Mark Rose is a resident of Brinnon and serves as spokesperson for The Brinnon Group

What Trump Should Have Said in Helsinki

by | Jul 25, 2018 | Politics

I really enjoy writing about politics in Jefferson County. The opportunity to learn and better connect with the people and issues that matter to us is deeply appreciated and I have mostly resisted the urge to write about national politics. But after a quarter century working in Washington, DC, I have failed to fully escape the gravitational pull of the nation’s capital.

 

President Trump made some ham-fisted remarks during his visit to Helsinki, Finland to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. He squandered a valuable opportunity to call Putin to account for myriad provocations in Ukraine, Crimea, Syria, the United Kingdom and elsewhere.

 

Trump’s handling of the issue of Russian attempts to sway the 2016 election was inexcusable and represents the low point of his administration to date. But the comparisons of his faux pas to Pearl Harbor, the Cuban missile crisis, and treason are no less a nadir for the president’s opponents who are grossly overplaying their hand. This was the greatest missed opportunity in Helsinki.

 

Suppose for the sake of argument that the dozen Russian operatives indicted earlier this month for a variety of misdeeds during the 2016 election cycle are guilty. These guys went to a lot of trouble to impact the election results. They set up their operations, cloaked their identities and hacked their way into the servers of the Democratic National Committee and others. They stole a lot of information and promoted a lot of propaganda.

 

After all that, Deputy US Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced on July 13 that there is no evidence that Russian mischief resulted in tampering with any votes or vote counts. None. There is no evidence of these Russians working with any Americans in this enterprise. None.

 

We know who failed to pull it off, we know how they tried and failed to do it, we know it failed to alter a single vote, and we know it failed to enmesh any Americans. This Russian caper was a goat rope of galactic proportions. Not only did it fail in every respect but US intelligence learned a lot about Russian operatives, their methods and their techniques, facts which are absolutely vital in detecting and preventing future meddling.

 

This is what President Trump should have said in Helsinki, or at least an abbreviated version of it. I do not work for the man anymore so I have the luxury of kibitzing from the wilds of the Olympic Peninsula.

 

Rosenstein’s conclusions also support the more intuitive notion that nothing could have possibly interfered with vote tallies in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan or Wisconsin. These four states voted for Barack Obama in 2012 and 2008, but were lost by Hillary Clinton in 2016 and their combined 64 Electoral Votes put Trump over the top. Nobody with an IQ exceeding room temperature can believe Russian spies were busy faking vote tallies in Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit, or Green Bay.

 

So why are we wrapped around the axle of “Russian Meddling”? The alarm expressed by the media and others reflects something between callow naïveté and indefensible ignorance. This isn’t news as much as it’s history. Russian meddling two years ago was no more successful than previous efforts.

 

Soviet agents offered to fund the campaign of Hubert Humphrey in his race against anti-Soviet hardliner Richard Nixon in the 1968 election. Humphrey declined the offer just as the Trump campaign declined overtures from Russia.

 

Soviet Premiere Nikita Khrushchev was a big fan of Adlai Stevenson and offered to support Stevenson should he decide to run for president in 1960, the offer being made through the Soviet ambassador to the United States. Stevenson thanked Khrushchev for the offer and then declined it, just as Trump rebuffed the Russians.

 

Washington state’s own Henry M. Jackson was targeted by Russian operatives who feared his anti-Soviet policies. In an effort to help Jimmy Carter win the Democrat nomination in 1976, Soviet operatives orchestrated a smear campaign against Jackson, forging documents suggesting he was a closeted homosexual. The documents were provided to certain media and the Carter campaign, but whether this doomed Jackson’s bid we’ll never know.

 

Add to these episodes the uncounted efforts of Soviet and Marxist-backed political groups operating within the United States and what emerges is a history of Soviet-Russian meddling spanning more than a century. It’s what these guys do, every four years.

 

Most of the important questions about Russia’s fooling around in the 2016 election have been answered but there are still a few unknowns, one of which is why then-President Barack Obama ordered the cyber-warriors of his National Security Council to stand down when they knew about Russian meddling in the summer of 2016. Russia’s efforts could have been stopped then and there but Obama decided against doing so.

 

If anybody thinks this is being seriously investigated, I have some oceanfront property in Arizona I’d like to sell you.
A Dope Dealer on the County Commission?

A Dope Dealer on the County Commission?

by | Jul 21, 2018 | Politics

Greg Brotherton Undermines Youth Prevention Efforts

Greg Brotherton owns Sea Change Cannabis, the first pot shop to open in Jefferson County.  He promotes the expanded use of marijuana through his website and movies he has written and produced.   He puts profits before people by hiding science-based information on the dangers of his inventory, or disseminating misleading and false information through his employees.

Researchers know that inhaling marijuana smoke—by smoking a joint, a bong or vaping—is definitely dangerous.  Marijuana smoke—you won’t learn this from Brotherton’s budtenders—contains more carcinogens, and higher levels of tar and toxins than the cigarettes that have sickened and killed hundreds of millions of people around the world.

 

Marijuana use causes young men to have a 250% higher risk of testicular cancer.  Marijuana use increases the incidence ofschizophrenia and respiratory problems. Mothers who use marijuana pass THC to their babies through the placenta and breast milk. And contrary to everything you will hear from budtenders about this “gentle herb,” marijuana is addictive.

 

Like the tobacco industry, marijuana dealers don’t put out the bad news about their product.  So where can parents, teens and others go for accurate, scientific information on the dangers of marijuana?  The Jefferson County Public Health Department and associated public-private programs.

 

Brotherton wants a commissioner’s job and the power that comes with it.  If he is elected, a dope dealer will have control over anti-marijuana programs intended to cost him customers.
County Commissioners are the Jefferson County Board of Health

 

Every County Commissioner also serves on the Jefferson County Board of Health.  This body, composed of the commissioners, a representative form the hospital board, Port Townsend City Council, and “concerned citizens,” according to RCW 70.05.060 supervises “the maintenance of all health and sanitary measures for the protection of the public health within its jurisdiction” and enacts rules and regulations “as are necessary for the protection of the public health.”

 

The use of marijuana, alcohol and other drugs is a cause of growing concern for county health boards.  The Jefferson County Substance Abuse Advisory Board, a program under the Board of Health’s supervision, has concluded that the costs of substance abuse for our county are “staggering.”  A comprehensive review conducted in 2010 calculated that public sector costs exceeded $17 million.  Those numbers understated the problem because they did not include Fire/Emergency Medical services, coroner’s expenses and certain medical assistance costs.  That figure also does not include the costs of domestic violence, personal medical costs, costs to insurance providers, lost productivity and wage loss, and “the financial strain of pain and suffering and stress of individuals or families.”

 

The Board of Health has been concerned with growing norms of acceptance of marijuana because Jefferson County youth use marijuana at higher rates than in neighboring Clallam and Kitsap Counties, as found by the 2016 Healthy Youth Survey Report.  Sadly, our county also suffers higher youth suicide and alcohol use.

 

The growing acceptance of marijuana is a major concern of  the Chimacum Prevention Coalition, of which the Department of Health is a part.  This advocacy organization brings parents, schools, agencies, community groups, and community members together to work on preventing youth marijuana and alcohol abuse in the Chimacum School District.  It identified the easy availability of marijuana, low perception of harm, and use acceptance as three of the top four risk factors for youth.  The acceptance of marijuana use and a decreasing perception of the harm from its use are rising among youth, in part because marijuana outlets are so plentiful and promote their product so effectively.  Youth perception of adult tolerance for marijuana use is making the problem worse, the coalition concluded.

 

Greg Brotherton is one of the most visible forces in the community promoting increasing acceptance of marijuana while also minimizing the perception of its harm.

 

Brotherton Promotes Marijuana Use As Beneficial and Cool, While Misleading and Failing to Inform on its Scientifically-Established Health Risks

 

Brotherton’s business promotes marijuana through testimonials of users, including the following.

 

“The more I learn about weed, the more I appreciate it. It is a gentle and kind herb that makes me feel more connected to nature and myself. I am really grateful that it exists…”

 

“Just always been a comfort to me, helped me through the tough times as well as the good times.”

 

“It gets you closer to God.”

 

Brotherton’s business also provides an employees’ testimonial relating his marijuana use going back to his high school days.

Brotherton’s Discovery Bay Village Store promotes cannabis as just another fun, safe thing.  The store front advertises cannabis on equal terms with groceries and kid friendly stuff.
And then there’s Brotherton’s movie, Verde Noir.
It is a stoner film portraying marijuana use in a comic and positive fashion.  It was produced during the time Brotherton sat on the Quilcene School Board and published on the eve of his decision to run for Jefferson County Commission.  The movie may be viewed off his website, at www.verdenoir.com, or on YouTube.
Brotherton himself stars, smoking a bong for “creative inspiration.  He is clearly stoned, with slits for eyes as he counts out cash for what is portrayed as a black market purchase of dope from

unlicensed dealers.  Smoking marijuana is depicted as fun and cool in every segment–something you do in the middle of the day, in the car before you ask Mom for half a million dollars to start a marijuana business, what you do when you hang out with a lobbyist for the dope industry.  It is even something a fourteen-year old teenager can do with Mom, growing marijuana for fun and profit, and as much quality bud as you can smoke.  Seriously, this is in Brotherton’s stoner movie, in the subplot that opens the film.

The quest of the raggedy stoner begging money to launch a marijuana business is titled “The Heroes [sic] Journey.”
In the film Brotherton says that producing or selling marijuana is one of the “few industries left for an entrepreneur to get into that really supports the American dream.”
What’s the point of this film?  Brotherton explains at his Sea Change Cannabis website:
We’re interested in sharing these stories and joining the conversation about what legal cannabis means, looks like, and should look like.  The stigma around cannabis is disappearing quickly, but too often we feel that portrayal of recreational users and patients, and growers lacks the deep and broad cultural shifts we are experiencing.  We hope to add a little nuance and a little laughter to the conversation.
This should be a big help to parents, teachers, drug prevention programs and health professionals trying to persuade kids that using marijuana is a very bad, uncool, stupid idea.
Inside Brotherton’s Store:  Marijuana, the Miracle, Totally Fun Drug
Inside his Sea Change Cannabis store, one is met with colorful displays and glass cases of bright, attractive pipes and bongs making marijuana use look like a lot of fun.  When I dropped in for a look-see a couple of tourists from a state where recreational marijuana is illegal were at the counter telling the clerk they wanted to take pot with them back home to friends and for themselves.  He made some product recommendations then—wink,wink—told them his job was to say “enjoy your pot in Washington State.”  He never told them that what they were planning to do was illegal.
When it was my turn I asked what information the store had on the dangers of marijuana use.  A dumbfounded look crossed the clerk’s face.  He said he had never heard of any health problems.  “It might make you giggle,” he quipped. As far as he knew, all of marijuana’s effects are good.  I asked, did they have any information I could take and read?  We had something here, I think, he said. He came from behind the counter and searched racks on a wall.  He found nothing.  But I had found something while I waited and pointed it out to him.  You have to turn around and face away from the eye-popping displays and look behind the door.  In an unmarked slot, with the text facing the wall, I found slips of paper with a few, bland cautionary words.  There was also a strip of curled paper on the door jamb you would never see unless you looked hard because it was blocked by the door when you came in and when you left.  The print was quite small.  You had to get up close to learn that marijuana “may be habit forming.”

 

I asked the clerk, Is there any harm in smoking marijuana?  As long as people have been smoking it, he answered, they have never proven that it causes cancer.  Does it contain any carcinogens?  I asked.  Nope, maybe some tar, he answered.  It helps you sleep, relaxes you and is good for lots of things so you don’t need medicine.  A customer chimed in: “I smoked tobacco for thirty years and marijuana helps me get up all that stuff in my lungs.  It is a better expectorant than tobacco.  After I smoke marijuana, I can actually taste tobacco.”  The Sea Change clerk agreed.  Between them, they tried to persuade me that smoking marijuana helps you breathe easier.

 

To get started using marijuana, the helpful clerk recommended, just try a little puff, or a little snack.  See how you feel. Then do more and more and keep building up each time.  You’ll get to where I am.

 

Here is the little bit of cautionary information offered by Brotherton about the dangers of marijuana—that even his store clerk could not find—found on those small slips of paper:

 

“There may be health risks associated with consumption of this product.  Should not be used by women that are pregnant or breastfeeding.  For use only by adults twenty-one and older.  Keep out of reach of children.  Products containing marijuana can impair concentration, coordination, and judgment.  Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the influence of this drug. CAUTION:  When eaten or swallowed, the intoxicating effects of this drug may be delayed by two or more hours.”

 

This warning or other warning may be on some of the products sold by Brotherton.  I couldn’t find it on what I could see.  Even so, this feeble warning omits much of the known dangers of marijuana use and understates those it mentions.

 

Brotherton Can’t Be Part of the Solution.  He is a Big Part of the Problem

 

In his stoner movie, Brotherton says he brings “a social conscience” to dealing in marijuana.  If he truly meant that, if he did not put profits before people, he would have warnings about the scientifically established dangers of marijuana not hidden behind a door but front and center greeting and educating every customer as they entered and before they made their purchase.

 

The Jefferson County Health Department provides tons of science-based information about the dangers of marijuana use.  Their website links to concise, exaggeration-free papers from the National Institute of Health and the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute of the University of Washington.  The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board also provides a summary of the known health consequences of marijuana use.
Al the following statements on the adverse health consequences of marijuana use come from those sources.
They make it clear “There is no ‘safe’ way to use marijuana,” whether smoked or ingested.  That is not something you will ever hear from Brotherton, his employees or any one else who wants more people to buy and use their dope.
Among other scientifically-established dangers of marijuana the Health Department wants people to know about, in addition to those mentioned at the start of this article, are:
–It is more than possibly “habit forming.”  It is addictive.

 

–Marijuana use can damage brain development, in babies taking in THC through their mother’s placenta or breast milk to teenagers to anyone up to age 25.  (Brotherton, as do all pot dealers, gladly sells to anyone over 21).  It can cause long term damage and a permanent drop in IQ and loss of verbal ability and memory.

 

–Pregnant women who use marijuana have 2.3 times greater incidence of still birth.  Marijuana-exposed children are more likely to show gaps in problem-solving skills, memory and the ability to remain attentive. Parental marijuana use is associated with a greater likelihood of using marijuana at an early age.

 

–Contrary to what Brotherton’s employee said, to quote directly from UW’s Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute, “Marijuana smoke contains carcinogenic combustion products, including about 50 percent more benzoprene and 75 percent more benzanthracene (and more phenols, vinyl chlorides, nitrosamines, reactive oxygen species) than cigarette smoke.68 Because of how it is typically smoked (deeper inhale, held for longer), marijuana smoking leads to four times the deposition of tar compared to cigarette smoking.”

 

–Marijuana smoking is associated with large airway inflammation, increased airway resistance, and lung hyperinflation, and those who smoke marijuana regularly report more symptoms of chronic bronchitis than those who do not smoke.

 

–Marijuana has been linked to increased psychiatric disorders, including depression, anxiety and substance abuse disorders.  It is particularly dangerous for individuals with a genetic predisposition to schizophrenia and psychosis.  The high THC content of today’s marijuana products increases the risks of psychiatric problems.

 

–Research has shown that marijuana’s negative effects on attention, memory, and learning can last for days or weeks after the acute effects of the drug wear off, depending on the person’s history with the drug.  Consequently, someone who smokes marijuana daily may be functioning at a reduced intellectual level most or all of the time.

 

–Chronic use of marijuana can lead to Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome—a condition marked by recurrent bouts of severe nausea, vomiting, and dehydration. This syndrome has been found to occur in persons under 50 years of age and with a long history of marijuana use. Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome can lead sufferers to make frequent trips to the emergency room.

 

Researchers are finding more links between marijuana use and an array of physical and psychiatric problems.  The symposiums held by UW’s Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute are taking a close look at marijuana as it is somewhat easier now to study following legalization in Washington, though it remains listed as a Schedule I drug by the DEA.  Because many long-term marijuana users also use other drugs, particularly tobacco (70% of marijuana smokers also smoke tobacco) it is taking time to isolate all the adverse effects of marijuana. Research has established, though, that the adverse health effects of inhaling marijuana persist even with the use of bongs or vaping.

 

Brotherton Ducks Direct Questions

 

Brotherton had agreed to an in-person interview to discuss how his marijuana business could conflict with his obligations as a county commissioner.  We set a date and time.  Shortly before the interview was to take place, he cancelled.  He said he was now too busy and sent us a brief statement in lieu of the interview:  “As a commissioner, I would always put the public’s interest before my own. I support the ‘appearance of fairness’ doctrine. If the BoCC we’re considering something that could benefit me personally, I would be transparent and take the advice and err on the side of caution, recusing myself.”
That was not the point of the interview.  So I sent three questions he could answer whenever he found time:
Those questions were:
1.  How can you be on the Board of Health (a duty of being a county commissioner) which works to educate people about the dangers of marijuana use and deter its expanded consumption, when you are in the business of promoting marijuana use and its broader acceptance?
2.  Would you personally participate in campaigns to spread the word on the dangers of marijuana use in order to reduce its acceptance and consumption?
3.  Do you inform your customers of the dangers of smoking and ingesting marijuana and, if so, how and what information do you give them?
We are still waiting for Mr. Brotherton’s answers.

District 3 Commissioner Race: Greg Brotherton on the Issues

by | Jul 19, 2018 | Politics
With this set of answers from Greg Brotherton we complete our Q&A with the candidates running to replace Kathleen Kler as the Jefferson County District 3 Commissioner.  You can read the discussion with the other candidates, Craig Durgan, Jon Cooke and RyanMcAllister, by clicking on each of their names.
Greg Brotherton is one of three Democrats in the race.  He is the proprietor of Sea Change Cannabis in Discovery Bay, the first pot shop to open in Jefferson County.  He also operates the Disco Bay Detour bar and performance space, the Discovery Bay Village Store and a recording business.   He describes his marijuana business as “an economic driver for the Discovery Bay Area.”  He is a graduate of Evergreen College and taught English in South Korea.  His website contains more biographical information and further statements on his positions and reasons for running, which he discusses in his answers below.
Now, let’s hear from Greg Brotherton:

1.  What do you see as the most critical need facing District 3 and what specifically will you do to address that need?

There are many needs in District 3, and throughout the county. Looking at a uniquely District 3 issue, I believe that rural internet is the key to levelling the playing field between rural and urban areas.
I would pursue legislative options, such as following the pilot program in Kitsap County which allows the PUD to give retail access if there aren’t any private companies that will provide the “Last Mile” service.
I would also work to encourage more Wireless Internet Service Providers.  I was walking around Gardiner today, and many appreciative residents praised North Olympic Wireless for their service.  We have a fiber backbone all the way down Highway 101. We need to open it up to small entrepreneurs to start decentralizing our broadband service.
I would also pursue 5G cellular towers, perhaps pushing the Opportunity Zones created by the state to incentivize investment and bring the cellular companies out to the country first.
2.  There has been much talk of the need for regulatory reform by all the candidates in order to promote a more prosperous District 3.  Which regulations would you change and how?
I have already been advocating the Jefferson County Board of Health to adopt the 2012 Washington State Recommended Standards for Water Conserving On-Site Septic Systems.  This would allow, for example, composting toilets and greywater systems that reduce water use and often recapture the greywater for irrigation use, rather than mixing it with blackwater.  Currently these systems are only permit-able with an on-site septic system in parallel.
I would work to change the On Site Sewage Code, 8.15, to allow these proven and often much cheaper alternatives.
Since all Commissioners are on the Board of Health, it will be much easier to advocate for composting toilets, and relaxing Additional Dwelling Unit limits on rural residential land.  I can see a five acre parcel with five tiny houses on it, all with composting toilets and greywater systems feeding a central orchard. Five families could carve out a life in the space that one or two takes now.
3.  What should the rest of the county, and Port Townsend in particular, be doing to alleviate the poverty and lack of economic opportunity in District 3?
Port Townsend has their own elected officials, and it is not a County Commissioners job to direct them. I hope to work with the city on issues that affect us all, like our recycling, health care, housing and more.
We should work with our farmers and small businesses to make it easier to build houses and businesses.  With the capacity for value added products, the seasonal nature of a lot of farm work can go year-round. We should, again, work for rural broadband.  There is nothing else that will educate us, allow us access to markets, and keep our voices relevant, so much as equal access to broadband.
It is my experience that District 3 residents aren’t looking for anything to be handed to us, we just want to take care of our business and have a voice at the table.  There are obstacles in our permit process and in our infrastructure, but I am confident we can make progress on these important issues.
I am the only candidate with experience in five key areas.

 

1. I have managed assets worth in excess of $200,000,000. Jefferson County has many assets worth quite a lot of money.
2. I have managed budgets in excess of $10,000,000. It is important to have experience with large budgets.
3. I have developed land in Jefferson County for the last 20 years. So, I am quite familiar with what it takes a business to start in operation here and the land use regulations.
4. I have run a successful business in Jefferson County for over 20 years.
5. I am an engineer by training and understand infrastructure and why it is so vital to our economy.

 

All these skills are applicable to being a member of the Board of County Commissioners. I believe that my experience will serve the residents of Jefferson County well.
When my family moved to Jefferson County, District 3 was the only choice. I’ve lived in the suburbs, cities, and abroad, and never felt home until we came to Quilcene.
In this quickly changing world, Jefferson County needs a collaborative innovator, so we can be a leader in thoughtful rural development.
I have worked for sustainable development from all sides. As the owner of three thriving businesses in District 3, I know how to be successful within the county and have created over twenty jobs. As a member of the Quilcene School Board, I learned what it takes to be proactive and effective in strategic planning, budgetary review, and developing policy.