Medical marijuana: Ongoing Bob Crouse trial shows prosecution overreach, advocate says

After getting the doctor's approval, Crouse filled out the application and submitted it to Colorado regulators, after which he began to acquire more plants. But three months later, he maintained, "I got the application back from the state saying there was an address on one piece of paper that was different from the address on another piece of paper. So they needed to have it done again and submitted back as soon as possible."

Dr. Bob Melamede.

But before that could happen, local police knocked on his door. "They told me they were there to check on my plant count," Crouse recalled. "They began to explain that they had people coming over with search warrants. And over the next three or four hours, ten or twelve different government-task-force employees arrived in eight or nine brand new SUVs -- and they dismantled and took everything I had."

Along the way, "they treated me like a criminal," he allowed. "I thought due process was something we did in this country, but they came in and basically convicted me."

Not yet. According to Hatfield, the prosecution has completed its presentation, giving the defense an opportunity to call witnesses like Dr. Bob Melamede, who appeared yesterday. The jurors will likely began to consider the case tomorrow, with today's session set to get underway at 2:30 p.m.

"Bob did nothing to break the law," asserts Hatfield, who will be taking part in another demonstration at the courthouse tomorrow morning. "It's his right to use what medication works best for him, and that a doctor recommends. And the Phoenix Tears program was working -- it's proven by his blood results. So I think the government needs to stay out of people's business and learn what the law is."

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More from our Marijuana archive: "Marijuana: Surgery success for Larry Shurtleff, who credits Phoenix Tears with whipping cancer."