WATERVILLE — A former Rock Island man won't serve jail time after he was convicted of conspiring to manufacture a hallucinogen he says was intended for religious ceremonies.
Jay Daniel Doty, 71, pleaded guilty Monday in Douglas County Superior Court to one count of conspiracy to commit possession with intent to manufacture or deliver, a Class B felony.
Authorities suspected Doty of manufacturing N, N-Dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, in 2017 at his Hurst Landing home west of Rock Island. DMT is a powerful psychedelic used in spiritual rituals. Its recreational use is illegal in the U.S.
With no previous felony convictions, Doty's standard sentencing range was up to 12 months in jail. Judge Brian Huber sentenced him to no days in jail, no probation and ordered him to pay $800 in legal fees.
The sentence was a joint recommendation by Douglas County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Ethan Morris and defense attorney James Dixon.
"After he was charged, the drug landscape in Washington has changed pretty dramatically and changed the way prosecutor's offices throughout the state approach these things," Morris said.
The state Supreme Court in 2021 ruled the state's existing drug possession law, a felony, was unconstitutional because it didn't contain language that considered whether the defendant was knowingly in possession of illegal drugs. Drug possession is now classified as a misdemeanor.
In his guilty plea, Doty said he gathered substances used to produce DMT as sacrament for members of the Santo Daime church. Santo Daime is a Brazilian religion that in ceremonies uses ayahuasca, a hallucinogenic plant long administered by shamans in countries like Peru and Brazil that's growing in popularity in the U.S. and Europe.
"I did knowingly and unlawfully conspire with another person to possess with the intent to deliver DMT, a controlled substance, to members of the Santo Daime church," Doty wrote. "This was done for a non-commercial purpose, and neither I nor anyone else received compensation for the sacrament (DMT) we provided to the members."
Three Oregon Santo Daime churches in 2008 sued then-U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey for violations of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Authorities previously intercepted shipments of DMT to the members of the churches and threatened arrest.
U.S. District Judge Owen M. Paneer in 2009 ruled in favor of the Church of the Holy Light of the Queen because use of Daime tea was crucial to the churches' religious practices.
According to Morris, Doty's potential religious use of DMT wasn't discussed during negotiations and was first cited in his guilty plea statement.
"That's the only place where this has been raised," Morris said Tuesday. "My review of the investigation didn't find any mention of that as something he was asserting early on."
Doty declined to comment Monday and his attorney did not respond to email questions.
Detectives were led to Doty in June 2017 while investigating an illegal marijuana grow at a home in Moses Lake. During a search, investigators recovered marijuana products with label information, to include a website, fine — oils.com, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in Superior Court. Doty's phone number and email address were listed on the website's contact page.
Grant County authorities on June 20, 2017 searched and attempted to seize Doty's Rock Island home and reportedly recovered liquids and plant material that contained DMT. Other confiscated materials contained harmine, a compound found in plants that when taken with DMT allows DMT to be ingested by mouth, the affidavit said.
Doty, who currently lives in Port Angeles according to charging information, lived at the home when Grant County's Interagency Narcotics Enforcement Team attempted to seize the home. Douglas County Assessor records show Doty is still listed as owner of the Hurst Landing home.
Douglas County prosecutors did not file charges against Doty until nearly three years later after negotiations with Doty's attorneys fell apart.
"When those discussions were not fruitful we ended up filing the charge," Morris said. He noted the state's statute of limitations requires prosecutors to file charges within three years in most criminal cases.
Doty was charged in May 2020 with possession of a controlled substance with intent to manufacture or deliver, a Class B felony that carries a harsher punishment than the charge he pleaded guilty to Monday.
