COLORADO

A couple whose medical-marijuana plants were seized are threatening to sue authorities because the plants were returned dead.

The police seized 39 live marijuana plants from Jim and Lisa Masters in August 2006 and arrested them on drug charges, said their lawyer, Brian Vicente. The couple said they were using the plants for medical purposes and providing marijuana to several patients who were licensed to get it.

The narcotics charges against the Masters were dropped in June, and the plants were returned to them Monday, but dead.

The plants might be worth more than $100,000, the couple's attorneys told the Coloradoan newspaper.

The department didn't have to care for the plants because the couple did not have documentation to show the plants were legal, police spokeswoman Rita Davis said.