12:00 noon, April 30, 2012, was a momentous occasion at 4201 East 72nd Street in Commerce City, Colorado. The Adams County Sheriff Department gave a man marijuana.
In January of 2011, a SWAT team and group of detectives descended upon Josh Jones' Westminster home to find 140 marijuana plants and confiscated 2.5 pounds. He was charged with Felony Cultivation and Felony Possession. Josh Jones was a patient caregiver under Colorado's medical marijuana laws.
A year and $100,000 dollars of taxpayer monies later, the trial first ended in a mistrial based on the fact that the Drug Task Force was withholding police reports. Finally, late Thursday, April 26, a jury delivered their "not guilty" verdict to the Jefferson County District Court judge.
"I had the sense that the jurors believed it was a waste of time for the District Attorney to bring this case," said Josh Jones' attorney Robert Corry. "I cannot say I disagree."
The victory for medical marijuana was punctuated on Monday afternoon when Josh Jones showed up at the Adams County Sheriff Department to pick up his confiscated medical marijuana.
"This is a resounding victory for the principle that a caregiver can possess whatever amount of marijuana is medically necessary for his patients," Corry told Kush Magazine. "We hope that law enforcement will look at this acquittal, and the two others this year in Larimer and Adams District Court, and will decide to use the taxpayers resources on real crime."
