DENVER -- The Colorado Court of Appeals has ruled that a medical marijuana provider must have personal contact with patients to be designated as a primary caregiver.

Thursday's ruling was in response to an appeal by a Longmont woman who was providing the drug to registered medical marijuana users she had never met. Stacy Clendenin had been convicted in Boulder County of charges that included cultivation of marijuana and possession with intent to distribute.

Attorney General John Suthers praised the court ruling.

"I am pleased to see the Court of Appeals' has provided legal support for our case that a caregiver, under Amendment 20, must do more than simply provide marijuana to a patient. I also was pleased to see the assertion in the special concurrence that Amendment 20 'cries out for legislative action.' I could not agree more. I hope the legislature will act and create a regulatory framework that gives substance to the Court of Appeals' findings," he wrote.

Colorado voters legalized marijuana use and cultivation for medicinal purposes in 2000. Medical marijuana users are required to register with the state but there's no regulation of the dozens of dispensaries that have cropped to provide the drug to them.

Read the court decision.