[420 Girl]

Charges were dropped today against a Desert Storm veteran who was arrested for growing 71 marijuana plants in his basement.

Kevin Dickes, who has a medical-marijuana card, faced up to six years in prison. He was scheduled to go to trial in Arapahoe County District Court in February.

Dickes said he needed the marijuana to help him with the pain he has suffered daily since a grenade landed next to him in Kuwait when he served there as a Marine in 1991. He has no feeling below his right calf and suffers from chronic vascular disease.

Police swarmed Dickes' Aurora home on April 27 on a tip from a neighbor. SWAT officers opened his door and threw him to the ground and pointed their guns directly at him, according to Dickes.

Dickes' attorney, Rob Corry, was pleased with the decision and said he will file a motion Monday to have Dickes' possessions returned, including the pot plants.

"This is a victory for medical marijuana, a victory for Colorado voters and a victory for compassion," Corry said.

Under Colorado's medical-marijuana law, approved by voters in 2001, patients under a doctor's care who get a medical-marijuana card, as Dickes did, can have up to 2 ounces of pot or six plants. But there is a provision in the law that allows for more plants if a judge deems that the medical condition warrants it.

http://www.420magazine.com/forums/in...t-veteran.html