Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe JUNEAU, Alaska, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- An Alaska couple's claims that 50 marijuana plants growing in their home were for religious cleansing were rejected by appeals court judges. The three-member Alaska Court of Appeals voted 2-1 to reject the argument that Michael Lineker, 64, and his wife Maria, 49, were using the plants discovered in their Craig, Alaska, home by police in 2003 for religious cleansing rituals involving the plant oils, the Anchorage Daily News reported Friday. Advertisement Michael Lineker pleaded no contest to fourth-degree misconduct with a controlled substance and his wife made the same plea to a charge of fourth-degree attempted misconduct. Both made deals with prosecutors allowing them to appeal the convictions. Superior Court Judge Larry Weeks said in the original trial that the Linekers did not seem sincere about their religious beliefs. He said Lineker's "speech and manner under oath left the court with a firm conviction that as he was testifying he was making it up as he went along." The couple have the option of pursing the case to the state Supreme Court.
