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The son told me no way they had 30 lbs..
they pretty much busted in against his wishes...
A 60-year-old woman arrested several years ago after sheriff’s deputies discovered more than 30 pounds of marijuana in her Pear Park basement has been acquitted at trial after her attorney argued Colorado law doesn’t limit how much marijuana someone can possess if it comes from a legal grow.
Brenda Maggio came to the attention of Mesa County sheriff’s deputies in December 2013, when, responding to a report of a suicidal woman, they arrived at the door of the 30 Road home she shared with her adult son, Javier Maggio. After noting a strong smell of marijuana, deputies were given consent to search the home and found 5 to 50 pounds of marijuana, with plants drying on blinds and buds packed in mason jars. The Maggios told deputies they had a medical marijuana card, but it had expired.
Both mother and son were charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, marijuana possession of more than 12 ounces, and manufacture of marijuana concentrate.
Javier Maggio agreed to plead guilty in exchange for a deferred judgment, meaning the conviction will be dropped from his record once he completes his term of probation. Defense attorney David Eisner, who represented Brenda Maggio, said his client was offered a similar agreement, but turned it down in favor of a jury trial.
Eisner in September asked District Judge Gretchen Larson to dismiss all charges, arguing that the Colorado constitution and statutes were vague and prosecution violated his client’s due process rights.
Colorado residents voted in 2012 to amend the state’s constitution to allow for recreational marijuana use and possession. Adults are allowed to possess up to six marijuana plants as long as only three are budding at any given time, and as long as the owners follow growing regulations.
The law also prohibits recreational users from possessing more than two ounces of marijuana, however. “If a patient has processed a portion of a plant to have two ounces of usable form of marijuana but still has two untouched mature plants, along with the remainder of the third mature plant, what should the patient do?” Eisner queried in his written request. “... There is no guidance in the statutes or the amendment of how the remainder is to be used.”
Larson rejected his request after a written objection by prosecutor David Schwenke.
When the case went to trial earlier this month, Eisner argued that Colorado state law doesn’t address how much marijuana home growers were allowed to possess from their plants. He argued that Brenda and Javier Maggio between them could possess a combined total of 12 plants, and there was no legal reason they couldn’t keep all the marijuana from their recreational plants at their home.
Schwenke, who in written pleadings noted that the marijuana at the Maggios’ home came from “well over 12 strains,” said he argued that the marijuana couldn’t have come from the plant limit.
The jury sided with Eisner and acquitted Brenda Maggio of all counts.
Eisner said the verdict won’t be considered a landmark case — since it was only in district court, not an appeals or supreme court, the decision won’t be binding in other jurisdictions and courtrooms. However, Eisner said it might be historic in Colorado, which he credited to Larson’s allowances in jury instructions.
“It might be helpful to other lawyers who are facing similar situations,” Eisner said. “Certainly for the readers of The Daily Sentinel, those people should understand that if you’re complying (with the 2012 amendment and related statutes) … there’s really no weight limitation.”
Schwenke said law enforcement agencies have made changes in how they handle marijuana grow cases, and that the case suffered somewhat from delays.
“That was one of the first big busts that law enforcement had right after recreational marijuana passed,” he said. “I think there’s a couple things that we could have done differently.”
https://www.gjsentinel.com/news/acq...cle_7b2f062a-d543-11e7-9bd2-43d1a335e084.html
The son told me no way they had 30 lbs..
they pretty much busted in against his wishes...
A 60-year-old woman arrested several years ago after sheriff’s deputies discovered more than 30 pounds of marijuana in her Pear Park basement has been acquitted at trial after her attorney argued Colorado law doesn’t limit how much marijuana someone can possess if it comes from a legal grow.
Brenda Maggio came to the attention of Mesa County sheriff’s deputies in December 2013, when, responding to a report of a suicidal woman, they arrived at the door of the 30 Road home she shared with her adult son, Javier Maggio. After noting a strong smell of marijuana, deputies were given consent to search the home and found 5 to 50 pounds of marijuana, with plants drying on blinds and buds packed in mason jars. The Maggios told deputies they had a medical marijuana card, but it had expired.
Both mother and son were charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, marijuana possession of more than 12 ounces, and manufacture of marijuana concentrate.
Javier Maggio agreed to plead guilty in exchange for a deferred judgment, meaning the conviction will be dropped from his record once he completes his term of probation. Defense attorney David Eisner, who represented Brenda Maggio, said his client was offered a similar agreement, but turned it down in favor of a jury trial.
Eisner in September asked District Judge Gretchen Larson to dismiss all charges, arguing that the Colorado constitution and statutes were vague and prosecution violated his client’s due process rights.
Colorado residents voted in 2012 to amend the state’s constitution to allow for recreational marijuana use and possession. Adults are allowed to possess up to six marijuana plants as long as only three are budding at any given time, and as long as the owners follow growing regulations.
The law also prohibits recreational users from possessing more than two ounces of marijuana, however. “If a patient has processed a portion of a plant to have two ounces of usable form of marijuana but still has two untouched mature plants, along with the remainder of the third mature plant, what should the patient do?” Eisner queried in his written request. “... There is no guidance in the statutes or the amendment of how the remainder is to be used.”
Larson rejected his request after a written objection by prosecutor David Schwenke.
When the case went to trial earlier this month, Eisner argued that Colorado state law doesn’t address how much marijuana home growers were allowed to possess from their plants. He argued that Brenda and Javier Maggio between them could possess a combined total of 12 plants, and there was no legal reason they couldn’t keep all the marijuana from their recreational plants at their home.
Schwenke, who in written pleadings noted that the marijuana at the Maggios’ home came from “well over 12 strains,” said he argued that the marijuana couldn’t have come from the plant limit.
The jury sided with Eisner and acquitted Brenda Maggio of all counts.
Eisner said the verdict won’t be considered a landmark case — since it was only in district court, not an appeals or supreme court, the decision won’t be binding in other jurisdictions and courtrooms. However, Eisner said it might be historic in Colorado, which he credited to Larson’s allowances in jury instructions.
“It might be helpful to other lawyers who are facing similar situations,” Eisner said. “Certainly for the readers of The Daily Sentinel, those people should understand that if you’re complying (with the 2012 amendment and related statutes) … there’s really no weight limitation.”
Schwenke said law enforcement agencies have made changes in how they handle marijuana grow cases, and that the case suffered somewhat from delays.
“That was one of the first big busts that law enforcement had right after recreational marijuana passed,” he said. “I think there’s a couple things that we could have done differently.”
https://www.gjsentinel.com/news/acq...cle_7b2f062a-d543-11e7-9bd2-43d1a335e084.html
