Pubdate: Fri, 25 Jun 2010
Source: Daily Sentinel, The (Grand Junction, CO)
Copyright: 2010 Cox Newspapers, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.gjsentinel.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2084
Author: Paul Shockley
Bookmark: http://mapinc.org/topic/Dispensaries

GRAND JURY CLEARS 3 IN POT-GROWING INVESTIGATION

A Mesa County grand jury declined to bring charges  against three 
people investigated for a medical  marijuana grow operation that was 
targeted by  authorities in March, according to court files made public Friday.

The grand jury returned no indictments when presented  with an 
opportunity Thursday night to level felony  counts of cultivation of 
marijuana, possession with  intent to distribute marijuana, and 
distribution of  marijuana, against Cristin Groves, Brian Groves and 
Sid  Squirrell, all owners of a medical marijuana  dispensary, 
Naturals, A Wellness Center, 624 Rae Lynn  Drive.

Squirrell, also a commercial Realtor with Bray & Co.,  leases a 
building at 573 W. Crete Circle, where Western  Colorado Drug Task 
Force officers in March found 1,080  marijuana plants. Authorities 
said they sought a search  warrant to determine whether that volume 
could be  justified by the 308 medical-marijuana-registry 
cards  found at the facility. The warrant also allowed Task  Force 
officers to copy all of the registry cards.

"My client has always intended to stay within the law,  and he was 
advised by his (prior) attorney he was  operating within the law," 
said Stephen Laiche, who  represents Squirrell.

"(Law enforcement) has known about this since March,  and they 
continued to let Mr. Squirrell maintain his  business," Laiche said.

Laiche declined comment when asked if Squirrell or  Naturals' other 
owners agreed to change any practices  as a result of the 
investigation. Squirrell testified  before the grand jury on June 17, 
Laiche said.

Cristin Groves, who along with her husband, Brian,  opened Naturals 
in October 2009, declined to answer  questions.

"We are extremely happy that the community, the Grand  Jury, was able 
to weigh the evidence and agree that we  are operating within 
Colorado state law," Cristin  Groves wrote in an e-mail.

Task Force officers visited Squirrell's Crete Circle  building March 
9 after an employee at the nearby  offices of the Grand Junction 
Census Bureau reported a  strong "chemical odor" seeping through the 
building's  ventilation system.

A search warrant affidavit said the officers were  allowed inside 
Squirrell's grow operation by Naturals'  employees, and the officers 
returned with a seizure  warrant for medical marijuana cards and 
samples of the  marijuana.

Under membership agreements for Naturals' customers,  the Groves and 
Squirrell maintained they were operating  as "primary caregivers" for 
the clients as defined  under Amendment 20.

The amendment defines a primary caregiver as someone,  other than the 
patient's doctor, age 18 or older and  having "significant 
responsibility for managing the  well-being of a patient who has a 
debilitating medical  condition."

Chief Deputy District Attorney Dan Rubinstein, one of  two 
prosecutors who presented evidence to the grand  jury, declined 
comment Friday afternoon.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom