Kirkland pot grower barred from buying guns

A medical-marijuana activist who shot an intruder in his home during a shootout this month has been barred from buying guns because he's a pot patient, according to an e-mail sent Tuesday by authorities.

The e-mail from the King County Sheriff's Office to Steve Sarich said paperwork authorizing him to use and grow marijuana for medical reasons was enough to deny him the possession of weapons.

Sarich, 59, said he tried to buy a shotgun and a pistol days after the March 15 shootout to replace ones seized by investigators. He said he has no criminal record but failed the background check because federal laws prohibit "unlawful users" of controlled substances from buying or receiving guns.

Marijuana is illegal under federal law.

The e-mail written by records-unit supervisor Ann Swartz said that when Sarich reported a previous burglary at his Kirkland-area home, he showed his medical-marijuana paperwork to investigators.

The Sheriff's Office forwarded the burglary report to the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System. "They informed us that possession of a medical drug card is sufficient to establish an inference of current use," Swartz wrote.

Five people were charged in the invasion of Sarich's home. Three pleaded not guilty Tuesday to burglary and attempted robbery. The suspect shot by Sarich has undergone surgeries on his heart and lungs and on Monday got one of his legs amputated below the knee, according to his lawyer.

Sarich suffered minor shotgun-pellet wounds when one intruder fired.

The Sheriff's Office is investigating him for potential violations of the state's medical-marijuana law.

Although the e-mail from Swartz said Sarich is barred from buying or possessing guns, he said he borrowed one shortly after the shooting. Sarich said he no longer has it.