DA DROPS MEDICAL MARIJUANA CASE

GLENWOOD SPRINGS - Prosecutors dismissed a case against a licensed
medical marijuana grower Thursday after the judge threw out much of
the evidence, but they're pursuing charges against two others who
were also arrested in connection with the Rifle marijuana growing operation.

"I can breathe again," said defendant Jennifer Ryan, hugging her
mother and Steamboat Springs attorney Kristopher Hammond after
leaving the courtroom.

Investigators accused Ryan of growing about 130 marijuana plants, far
in excess of what she was licensed to grow. But District Judge Jim
Boyd ruled last month that Two Rivers Drug Enforcement Team officers
improperly destroyed many of those plants, violating the state's
medical marijuana laws. He barred them from entering most of the
evidence about large plants they had collected as samples, leaving
only the small plants they had collected, roots and all.

That left just 23 plants, Hammond said, and Ryan had a license to
grow 24. He said that prompted prosecutors to drop the case.

"TRIDENT went back and counted up what they had and they came up
short," he said.

Speaking after the hearing, Assistant District Attorney Vince
Felletter said he couldn't discuss the evidence because of two
related cases, but he said Ryan's role wasn't central.

"I didn't see her as being the person most deeply involved in any
criminal activity," he said.

Felletter dismissed the case without prejudice, meaning the district
attorney's office could still pursue charges against her later. That
was meant to ensure that she wouldn't take all the blame in the related cases.

In the wake of this week's Supreme Court decision that found medical
marijuana users aren't exempt from federal prosecution, it could open
the door to federal authorities arresting her.

Both Felletter and Hammond said they thought that was unlikely. Ryan
said she hadn't grown medical marijuana since authorities seized her
equipment in the arrest. She declined to say if she would resume
growing operations again.

Charges are still pending against her ex-husband Gene Brownlee and
his cousin Justin Brownlee. (Ryan also completed divorce proceedings
against Gene Brownlee on Thursday in Garfield County Court.)

Gene Brownlee, is accused of growing and possessing pot with intent
to distribute. He said he is allowed to smoke marijuana to control a
chronic esophagus ailment. Justin Brownlee, his cousin, is accused of
unlawful cultivation.

Felletter said those cases will still go forward.

"Every person has the right to be tried on the evidence against
them," he said. "They're sort of separate and distinct."

Justin Browlee's attorney Pete Rachesky agreed the dismissal of
Ryan's case wouldn't mean the other cases would be dismissed,
although he said the case's previous prosecutor, former Deputy
District Attorney Jeff Cheney, had planned to do that.

"The facts aren't exactly the same," he said. "It may or may not be
(difficult to prosecute). I'll have to see."

Hammond said he expected Ryan's dismissal would play a role in the
other two cases, but noted that she was the only licensed marijuana caregiver.

TRIDENT officers arrested them after they said they found 131
marijuana plants growing in the Rifle apartment the couple were
moving into. Ryan admitted the plants were hers, but said she was
allowed to have them because she was a licensed medical marijuana caretaker.

Officers uprooted and smashed many of the plants and buried them in a
landfill, keeping only a leaf of the large plants, to be used as
evidence. They kept the small plants whole and put them in an evidence bag.

Hammond asked Boyd to throw out the case, saying TRIDENT officers
violated the state Medical Marijuana Amendment, which orders officers
to preserve seized plants from license holders until the case is resolved.

Boyd refused, but he allowed prosecutors to enter only the leaves of
the large plants and the entire small plants as evidence, finding
that TRIDENT officers acted in bad faith by not knowing the
provisions of the constitutional amendment, nearly four years old by then.

Garfield County Sheriff Lou Vallario said he expected the case to be
thrown out after that ruling but hoped the two others would go
forward. He said he took issue with Boyd's finding that officers
acted in bad faith.

"I think they acted appropriately," he said. "I think they acted the
way they had been trained to do in any other case. Obviously, the
burden does fall on us because we should have known the new law.
It'll be different the next time."