Source: LA Times, AP

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Defendant's Death Prompts Dismissal of Charges
in Medical Marijuana Case

Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCOThe death of one of the defendants in one of the first
criminal court cases involving the state's medical marijuana initiative
has forced prosecutors to drop the charges. The case against Jason Miller
and Alan Martinez, in which the two were accused of growing pot in their
Santa Rosa home, was dismissed Wednesday in Sonoma County Superior Court.
Martinez said he had been smoking marijuana for 10 years on his
physician's advice to prevent epileptic seizures. Miller said he was
Martinez's caregiver and grew pot legally under Proposition 215, the
medical marijuana initiative passed by voters in November.

Martinez died July 3 in a car accident in Sonoma County, possibly
after a seizure. That weakened the case against Miller, prompting
prosecutors to drop the charges, said Kathleen DeLoe, chief deputy
district attorney. "I felt it would be real hard to convict Mr.
Miller by himself," she said.

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