TRIO LOSES MEDICINAL MARIJUANA DISMISSAL BID

Three California men with medical prescriptions for marijuana have
lost their bid for early dismissal of drug possession charges filed in
Iron County.

That leaves Dennis Peron, 57, John Entwistle, 38, and Kasey Conder,
19, all of San Francisco, still facing trial on charges of
third-degree felony possession with intent to distribute and
misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.

The trio was on vacation in November 2001 when they were busted at a
Cedar City motel with relatively large quantities of marijuana and
cash, according to police.

The defendants filed motions to dismiss their charges, arguing that
prescriptions written by California medical doctors protect them from
prosecution. California's "Compassionate Use Act," passed in 1996,
allows the possession of marijuana for medical use.

But 5th District Judge Philip Eves was not persuaded the California
prescriptions are valid in Utah, which has no compassionate use
statute. Eves declined to dismiss the charges, saying the issues must
be decided by a jury. No trial date has been set.

The three defendants had nearly a pound of marijuana among them,
$7,500 in cash, a sackful of marijuana brownies and 13 copies of a
book co-written by Peron that advocates medical marijuana use.

The defendants insist the marijuana was for personal use, and that
they needed a large amount because they planned extended travel
outside of California. Peron and Entwistle say they have been
prescribed marijuana for their alcoholism; Conder uses it to fight
depression.

But in his 11-page ruling filed last month, Eves noted that the
amounts of marijuana and cash seized from the defendants "raises
sufficient evidence upon which a trier of fact could rely to find
guilt" on the distribution charges.

Regardless of the impact of California's Compassionate Use Act, a
California prescription "cannot authorize the defendants to engage in
the distribution of a controlled substance contrary to the laws of
Utah," Eves wrote.

Medical prescriptions, other than for illegal drugs, are generally
valid across state lines, Eves wrote. However, Utah law completely
prohibits prescriptions for Schedule I controlled substances, which
includes marijuana.

California and seven other Western states, including Nevada and
Colorado, have medical marijuana laws on their books. Peron says he
helped write the voter initiative that resulted in the California law.

A May 2001 U.S. Supreme Court decision purportedly invalidated
existing state medical marijuana laws, and probably prevents the
creation of such a law in Utah.

The ruling, however, apparently has not triggered a crackdown on
medical marijuana use.