MARIJUANA CASE CRUMBLING

CEDAR CITY - Felony drug charges against three California men carrying
medical marijuana prescriptions at the time of their arrest could be
dismissed now that a judge has ruled police illegally obtained the evidence
against them.

"We are very happy this is over. It's been an interesting 35,000-mile
journey," said Dennis Peron, 57, from his home in California on Thursday.
"This case was about the Fourth and Sixth Amendments. The Fourth Amendment
is put there to protect us from police coming into our homes or private
rooms and conducting illegal searches. They had plenty of time to get a
warrant and they didn't do it."

Peron was arrested at a Cedar City hotel in November 2001 and charged with a
third-degree felony count of engaging in a criminal enterprise and a
misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. John Entwistle Jr., 38, and
Kasey Conder, 19, also were arrested on charges of third-degree felony
possession with intent to distribute and misdemeanor possession of drug
paraphernalia. If convicted, the men could have been sentenced up to five
years in prison.

Fifth District Judge J. Philip Eves ruled Monday that since police did not
have a search warrant when they entered the men's hotel room all evidence
obtained during the search was inadmissible. Evidence obtained later from
the men's vehicle must also be tossed, even though police had a warrant for
that search, the judge ruled.

The three men were on an extended road trip and planned to see Zion National
Park and other Utah sites when they stopped in Cedar City for the night,
said Peron. All three were carrying medical prescriptions for marijuana
written by California doctors. That state's Compassionate Use Act, passed in
1996, allows the possession of marijuana for medical use, although Eves
earlier ruled the prescriptions were invalid in Utah. Peron and Entwistle
say they use marijuana to treat alcoholism, while Conder uses it to treat
depression.

Iron County Attorney Scott Garrett said when officers arrived at the hotel
they smelled marijuana coming from the room and knocked on the door. Once
the door was opened, officers asked to enter and one officer put his foot in
the door. Police found marijuana, brownies laced with pot, and cash in the
room and car.

"All the officers needed to do was get a warrant when they first smelled the
marijuana," said Garrett, who will forward copies of the judge's decision
and court briefs to the Utah Attorney General's Office to determine if an
appeal should be filed. If the case isn't appealed, Garrett said he will
file a motion to dismiss. "Once something is obtained without a search
warrant, everything obtained past that can't be used either. It doesn't
matter if they went and got a warrant to search the car or not."

Cedar City Police Chief Bob Allinson said he was disappointed in the judge's
ruling.

"We respect the judge's ruling, although it's a hard one to lose," said
Allinson, who said he thought his officers did the right thing at the time.
"We've discussed this case as a department and want to make sure we
understand the judge's ruling. Maybe there's something we could do better or
differently. Based on the evidence we had at the time and the possibility of
evidence being destroyed, I think they (the officers) did the right thing. I
feel good about their actions."

Peron said he still wants to see Zion National Park.

"Our trip kind of got interrupted," he said. "When I first got busted in
Utah I thought that it was the worst thing that could happen to me. But it's
been the best thing. I've met a lot of nice people there."

Peron, the author of California's medical marijuana law, said Utahns should
work to get the same law on the ballot in their state.

"Medical marijuana is alive in Utah," said Peron who also authored a
marijuana cookbook he said remains in police custody. "You can work within
the system and get this on the ballot. I grow my own marijuana. Why can't I
go to Utah with my medicine?"


Pubdate: Fri, 25 Apr 2003
Source: Deseret News (UT)
Copyright: 2003 Deseret News Publishing Corp.
Contact: letters@desnews.com
Website: http://www.desnews.com/