JURY ACQUITS SOUTH KITSAP MAN IN MEDICAL POT CASE

PORT ORCHARD - Jurors acquitted a medical marijuana user Tuesday of
growing pot illegally and attempting to sell it in a case hailed by
advocates of the drug as a victory for such patients in Kitsap County.

Bruce Olson, 55, said he lost his home and now lives in a travel
trailer due to costs involved in fighting two felony charges brought
by the Kitsap County Prosecutor's Office in May 2007.

"Everything I've worked for in my entire life is gone," said Olson,
who suffers from arthritis and other ailments following decades as a
stone mason. "But it's all worth it for the cause: quit arresting
medical marijuana patients."

Olson's attorney, Thomas Balerud, called the trial's result "a very
inefficient way to get justice.

"But when justice is done you've gotta be happy about it," he said.

Detectives from the West Sound Narcotics Enforcement Team raided the
Olsons' home in May 2007 after an informant told them he had seen the
55-year-old selling pot. Detectives said they found 48 plants in an
underground bunker, and said that number violated the state's
original medical marijuana law that decreed patients could have up to
a "60 day supply."

Since the case was charged by prosecutors in 2007, the Department of
Health has since updated the law to include a "presumptive" limit of
15 plants and 24 ounces of pot.

Balerud argued during the trial that none of the Olsons' 48 plants
contained any marijuana that was ripe or usable for medicinal
purposes, and therefore the 48 plants shouldn't count against the state limit.

A juror who spoke on condition of anonymity said the jury believed
the Olsons - Bruce and his wife Pamela, also a card-carrying medical
marijuana patient - hadn't broken any laws. They also found the
detectives' confidential source to be unreliable.

"In view of the evidence presented to us, we believed they were
within their rights," the juror said.

Advocates for medical marijuana were a constant presence at the
seven-day trial.

"I'm just really glad justice was served in Kitsap County," said Joan
Legaspi, a Seattle-area nurse who stayed with a group of medical
marijuana patients at a Port Orchard bed and breakfast. "I'm really
hoping it will be the kick in the pants that opens people's eyes."

Alexis Foster, deputy prosecutor who handled the case, said the
prosecutor's office isn't targeting medical marijuana patients, only
criminal acts.

"We didn't try this case to put medical marijuana laws on trial,"
Foster said. "We tried this case because we felt the defendant was
violating the law."

Several cases involving medical marijuana patients have come through
Kitsap County Superior Court in recent months.

Robert Dalton, 61, of Bremerton was convicted in September of growing
pot after Kitsap County Superior Court Judge Anna Laurie determined
he was "not a qualifying patient," because he could be treated by
"standard medical treatments and medications." His 30-day sentence
was stayed by the court pending an appeal.

Olson's wife, Pamela, 51, was also charged during her husband's case.
She pleaded guilty in May 2008 after Judge Leila Mills ruled she
couldn't use her medical marijuana card as defense. Mills ruled that
a doctor should've told her what her 60 day supply is instead of
making the determination for herself. She was sentenced to 60 days of
house arrest.

Bruce and his wife plan to move to Arizona in the coming months for
health reasons, he said.

"They're pretty happy with the 12 people in Kitsap County who
followed the law," Balerud said.

"I think we made a little milestone here today," Olson added.