







A Louisville man on trial for allegedly possessing excessive amounts of medicinal marijuana broke down in court Wednesday as he testified about the pain he has endured since being hit by a snowboarder on the slopes of Eldora Mountain Resort nearly five years ago.

Jason Lauve fought back tears as he described how he went from being an avid outdoorsman and an expert telemark skier — who taught disabled children how to ski — to being a person in chronic pain who takes a laundry list of medications and uses a wheelchair to get around much of the time.

He said smoking and ingesting marijuana — with a state-issued medical marijuana license — has given him pain relief that no other pharmaceutical drug or medical treatment has been able to provide.

Lauve, 38, faces a felony marijuana possession charge — punishable by up to three years in prison — after police found more than 30 plants and other forms of the drug in his home last summer.

The jury will hear closing arguments in the three-day trial this morning.

Boulder County District Judge Maria Berkenkotter told the eight men and four women on the jury Wednesday that they could find Lauve guilty of a felony possession charge of more than 8 ounces of marijuana, or one of two lesser counts — possession of 1 to 8 ounces or possession of less than an ounce.

He also faces a charge of possessing marijuana concentrate.

Lauve`s testimony dominated the day, as he spoke about being forced to abandon his days of 100-mile bicycle rides for a cane and wheelchair following the December 2004 ski collision.

He told the jury his health was further compromised in a 2007 auto accident, in which he was rear-ended by a woman who was texting on her phone.

During breaks in the trial, Lauve would lie down on a couch in the hallway outside the courtroom.

Combing through a bag of medications that have been prescribed to him, Lauve testified that he takes Vicodin and Relafen, among other painkillers. But he said they all have side effects that require him to take additional medication.

Lauve told the jury that after discussing the possible benefits of marijuana with his doctor, he was approved for a medical marijuana card and has renewed his license every year.

He said marijuana has helped him function again and allowed him to wean himself off of a couple of the painkillers he was taking, such as morphine and Oxycodone.

“I didn`t want a role of growing marijuana in my life,” he testified. “It was a necessity. It allowed me to be participating in society, to have a life.”

Lauve testified that he sprinkles the potent part of the marijuana bud into his tuna fish or oatmeal or mixes it into his butter before eating it, allowing him to get through the work day without excessive discomfort. He also typically smokes pot three times a day, Lauve said.

Prosecutors allege that the 34 ounces — or more than 2 pounds — of pot seized at Lauve`s house in June 2008 were a clear violation of the constitutional amendment Colorado voters passed decriminalizing medical marijuana. The law limits a patient to 2 ounces of usable marijuana and six plants.

But Lauve argues that the amendment also includes a provision that protects a patient or caregiver who claims to need more than the state-mandated maximum to address a debilitating condition.

He said he simply grew what he needed to ease his pain and never used the drug to get high. He said the 10 to 12 Ziploc bags of marijuana seized by police contained a typical amount of the drug that he would have in his possession at any given time.