The Georgia Supreme Court has ruled that evidence of marijuana growing can be used in an upcoming trial despite the defendant's argument that it was improperly obtained with a thermal imaging scan, according to an opinion published Monday.

James Brundige has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges related to growing marijuana. He argued that evidence found by authorities should be suppressed because one of the searches was for heat loss, which isn't "tangible evidence" under state law.

The state's highest court agreed that heat loss patterns aren't tangible evidence, but said that searches of the house were permissible because other information obtained by investigators was enough to establish probable cause.

The case began when a police officer acting on a tip found "an amount of marijuana in a size that is consistent with a marijuana grow operation" in an outdoor garbage can at Brundige's house, according to the opinion. The officer also learned Brundige had previously been arrested twice on marijuana possession charges. The officer also found that Brundige's home was using considerably more electricity than a neighboring home.