COURT DROPS GLENWOOD MEDICINAL MARIJUANA CASE

GLENWOOD SPRINGS - A district court dismissed a case against a former
medical marijuana grower Thursday because mishandling resulted in the
district attorney's office not having enough evidence.

Judge James Boyd recently supported two defense motions to throw out
picture evidence of more than 130 marijuana plants that law
enforcement destroyed after they were seized from the Rifle apartment
of Jennifer Ryan and three other people.

"We would like the court at this time to dismiss the charges against
Ms. Ryan without prejudice," said assistant district attorney Vincent
Felletter.

The caveat means charges could be refiled against Ryan.

Last summer, the Two Rivers Drug Enforcement Team confiscated the
plants from the apartment Ryan shared with ex-husband, Gene Brownlee,
Brownlee's nephew Justin Brownlee and Drew Gillespie.

Each was charged with various counts of possession with intent to
distribute marijuana.

Ryan's case was unique because she is a state-certified medical
marijuana grower. Legally she could have had up to six plants, with no
more than three in flower, or as many plants as she felt necessary to
treat a given medical condition.

State law stipulates that law enforcement must keep plants alive
though the trial in medical marijuana cases. But the Two Rivers Drug
Enforcement Team burned the plants, keeping only a leaf and picture of
each as evidence.

The defense filed a motion, citing mishandling, that requested the
pictures be inadmissible.

"What do we have left (as evidence)? We have a bunch of little
clippings," Felletter said.

Felletter decided to give up the case after meeting with TRIDENT and
discussing the charges still pending against the Brownlees and Gillespie.

"We don't want to do anything in this case that would jeopardize cases
against the (other defendants)," he said, but declined to elaborate
because those cases have yet to go to court.

"I didn't see (Ryan) being the person most deeply involved in the
criminal activity," he added.

The picture evidence should still be valid in the cases against the
other defendants, said TRIDENT chairman Lou Vallario.

The dismissal is timely, since the U.S. Supreme Court recently decided
that medical marijuana growers in states where the practice is legal
could still face federal charges. Felletter and defense attorney
Kristopher Hammond were confident Ryan wouldn't face federal charges.

Both Felletter and Vallario defended TRIDENT's handling of the
evidence.

TRIDENT wasn't aware of the law, "though admittedly we should have
been," Vallario said.

Even if TRIDENT had been aware of the law, it would have been
challenged to comply since it basically requires law enforcement to
cultivate marijuana.

"There's got to be some practicality to it," Vallario
said.

Vallario doesn't have a problem with marijuana as medicine but did
say, the law "was not thought through. It's not a good law."

In the future, if TRIDENT has a case with medical marijuana it will
likely have to take samples and pictures of the plants, but leave them
with the growers.