MAN SAYS HE WILL SUE SHERIFF

Sheriff's deputies seized more than 800 marijuana plants on Monday from a
grower on Wilder Ridge Road in southern Humboldt County who says the plants
were "medicine."

Steven Tuck said he was giving away marijuana to about 120 seriously ill
people with medical marijuana recommendations.

And, he says has the paperwork to prove it.

With the help of a prestigious San Francisco law firm, Tuck said he will
sue the Humboldt County Sheriff's Department, all the officers involved in
cutting and confiscating the marijuana, and Sheriff Dennis Lewis allegedly
for violating his civil rights and California's medical marijuana law.

Tuck, who has his own medical marijuana recommendation, said he is dying of
spinal cancer and has nothing to lose.

"They kicked the wrong dog this time," he said.

Sgt. Wayne Hanson, commander of the Sheriff's Drug Enforcement Unit, said
deputies first came to the Wilder Ridge property at about 5 p.m. because of
a report of gunfire there.

Sgt. Mike Downey and another deputy from the Garberville Sheriff's
Substation walked past a gate and up a road to the house where Tuck and
four others were living, Hanson said.

Tuck said that the two lawmen trespassed on property he is leasing --
without a search warrant -- after being told to leave by people at the
locked gate.

Hanson said the deputies had probable cause to enter the property.

"Sgt. Downey has the right to walk up to a residence and see what's going
on, in the interest of public safety," he said.

When he got to the house, Downey saw marijuana growing in a greenhouse and
called the Drug Enforcement Unit, Hanson said. Downey then detained the
people found on the property, and handcuffed Tuck at one point.

Tuck said that the greenhouse was 100 yards away from where Downey was
standing, and had opaque walls. The deputies knew he was growing marijuana,
he said, not because they saw it but because he had been open about his
activities at meetings of a county medical marijuana committee attended by
Lewis and District Attorney Terry Farmer. The two officials eventually
stopped meeting with the committee and do not agree with a proposed
ordinance it drafted for the Board of Supervisors.

Hanson said that sheriff's reports on the incident were confidential.

"You can supoena them if you want," he said.

Tuck and four others were detained for about five hours while DEU deputies
obtained a search warrant, which was signed by Superior Court Judge J.
Michael Brown at 9:30 p.m., Hanson said. He added that the DEU arrived on
the Wilder Ridge property at 9:55 p.m..

On Thursday, Tuck said he had still not seen a copy of the search warrant.

Deputies seized 839 marijuana plants, several guns that included a
semi-automatic carbine and .357 Magnum revolver, a bottle of prescription
medication with Tuck's name on it, books related to marijuana cultivation
and the personal records of people who received his medical marijuana.

Tuck's says California's medical marijuana law -- voter-approved
Proposition 215, which is also known as the Compassionate Use Act of 1996
- -- says that a primary caregiver, who has assumed responsibility for a
medical marijuana patient's health, housing or safety may grow marijuana
for that person.

As interpreted by the Humboldt County Sheriff's Department, the patient
must live with a person who is considered their primary caregiver.

"You have to live there," Lewis said. "(Tuck's case) is way outside 215."

For each of the people he was giving marijuana to, Tuck said, he checked
with the physician who issued the recommendation. He also checked the
physician's license with the state medical board. Tuck said he has receipts
from patients for each time he gave them marijuana.

Tuck's operation was somewhat similar to the Humboldt Medical Cannabis
Center in Arcata, where he was a board member for about six months in 1999.
The Arcata center was established in cooperation with Arcata Police Chief
Mel Brown.

The center, which serves about 500 patients, brings in marijuana from
several licensed gardens and distributes it to qualified individuals,
center President Gregory Allen said.

"All our medicine is 100 percent white market, and we're very proud of
that," he said.

Tuck, 33, said he has university degrees in environmental science, botany
and horticulture and was working on breeding several strains of marijuana
to treat specific illnesses. The median age of his clients is 56 years, all
are seriously ill, and he never charged any of them a cent, he added.

The issue of whether Tuck can be the primary caregiver for people he does
not live with will probably be decided in court. Tuck said that supporters
who want to remain anonymous at this time are willing to fund his lawsuit.
Tuck has a meeting today to discuss his potential lawsuit with Laurence
Lichter, an attorney in J. Tony Serra's San Francisco firm.

Tuck also expects criminal cultivation charges to be filed against him now
that he has talked to media, he said. He also spoke about his situation on
KMUD this week.

Tuck said he will probably also join a class-action suit being prepared by
local attorneys against the sheriff's department. The suit will seek a
restraining order against the seizure of medical marijuana plants unless a
jury finds that a person has too many or is outside the lines of Prop. 215.
That potential lawsuit is expected to be filed soon.