Source: LA Times, AP

Contact:letters@latimes.com

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.

Copyright Los Angeles Times