A HIGH COURT VICTORY

Standing outside the Larimer County Justice Center on June 1, James
Masters smiles publicly for the first time in months. Since being
arrested last August for growing 39 pot plants inside their home,
James and his wife Lisa have faced jail time and losing custody of
their two daughters. Now, the county district attorney's office has
dropped its case against the medical marijuana providers, just three
days before a scheduled jury trial that the Masters' lawyers called a
"test case" for Colorado's medical marijuana law.

The prosecution began falling apart last month when Chief Judge James
A. Hiatt ruled that a police search of the Masters' home was illegal.
(Read "Stoned - again - in court," from the May 17 issue, online at
rmchronicle.com). A follow-up defense motion claimed evidence in the
case was gathered during that illegal entry. Deputy D.A. Michael
Pierson gave in to that argument, resulting in no admissible evidence
and a case dismissal.

"I think the grassroots campaign and the media campaign we mounted
really had an effect on them," says Brian Vicente, one of the
Masters' two lawyers and the executive director for the pro-cannabis
organization, Sensible Colorado.

"This case was dismissed because of issues with the search warrant,
not because of the merits," responds Linda Jensen, spokesperson for
the D.A.'s office. The outcome will not influence how the county
prosecutes future, similar cases, she adds.

By law, police are required to return all confiscated property. The
judge gave the D.A.'s office five days to comply. If law enforcement
hasn't kept or maintained the Masters' plants, the couple could
receive monetary compensation, which Vicente roughly calculates at a
minimum of $78,000 in marijuana and grow-room equipment.

While pleased with the outcome, Vicente and his co-counsel, Rob
Corry, say a favorable jury decision could have further defined
aspects of the voter-approved medical marijuana law, including
providers' rights to sell weed to patients.

The Masters are still growing and supplying cannabis through the
Larimer County chapter of the Colorado Compassion Club.

"This is a huge victory for medical marijuana patients," James
Masters says, "but only if the Larimer County sheriff's department
and the [Fort Collins] police department realize we have a right [to
grow and smoke cannabis]."