T
The420Guy
Guest
Federal prosecutors are asking for a five-year prison sentence for Ed
Rosenthal, a prominent medical marijuana advocate convicted of
growing pot for a San Francisco dispensary.
The U.S. attorney's office said in a filing late Tuesday that
Rosenthal has never admitted the wrongfulness of his conduct, has
falsely claimed that he was an officer in Oakland's city-endorsed
medical marijuana program and should get the minimum five-year term
provided by federal drug laws.
Earlier Tuesday, Rosenthal's lawyers argued for a sentence of
probation rather than prison, saying their client was "motivated not
by financial gain but by a desire to provide humanitarian relief from
suffering to seriously ill patients."
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer is scheduled to sentence Rosenthal
next Wednesday. The court's probation department has recommended a
year and nine months in prison, well below the usual term for growing
marijuana.
Rosenthal, 58, was convicted in January of cultivation and conspiracy
for growing marijuana at his Oakland warehouse. He said the marijuana
was for medical patients at San Francisco's Harm Reduction Center and
was legally grown under California's medical marijuana law,
Proposition 215 of 1996.
During the trial, Breyer excluded evidence of Prop. 215, saying it
was irrelevant to the federal law that bans growing marijuana for any
purpose. He also barred evidence of Rosenthal's claims that he had
been deputized as an officer in Oakland's medical marijuana program
and that he had heard secondhand that federal authorities would not
prosecute such officers.
After the trial, several jurors publicly disavowed their guilty
verdict after learning about the excluded evidence, and a majority of
the jury -- seven jurors and two alternates -- have urged Breyer not
to sentence Rosenthal to prison. State Attorney General Bill Lockyer,
a supporter of Prop. 215, has asked the judge to impose the minimum
term allowed by federal guidelines.
Federal law normally requires a five-year term for anyone convicted,
like Rosenthal, of growing more than 100 plants. But both the defense
and the probation department contend he is entitled to a shorter
sentence under a "safety valve" law covering certain first-time
offenders who acknowledge their conduct.
Prosecutors argue, however, that Rosenthal is ineligible for the
safety valve because of evidence that he supervised others in
marijuana growing. They also contend he was responsible for the
entire growing operation at the San Francisco center and that he was
never validly designated as an officer in Oakland.
E-mail Bob Egelko at begelko@sfchronicle.com
- --
- ----
Dale Gieringer (415) 563-5858 // canorml@igc.org
2215-R Market St. #278, San Francisco CA 94114
Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, May 29, 2003
5 years sought for pot grower / Feds say he hasn't admitted wrongdoing
SF Chronicle
Rosenthal, a prominent medical marijuana advocate convicted of
growing pot for a San Francisco dispensary.
The U.S. attorney's office said in a filing late Tuesday that
Rosenthal has never admitted the wrongfulness of his conduct, has
falsely claimed that he was an officer in Oakland's city-endorsed
medical marijuana program and should get the minimum five-year term
provided by federal drug laws.
Earlier Tuesday, Rosenthal's lawyers argued for a sentence of
probation rather than prison, saying their client was "motivated not
by financial gain but by a desire to provide humanitarian relief from
suffering to seriously ill patients."
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer is scheduled to sentence Rosenthal
next Wednesday. The court's probation department has recommended a
year and nine months in prison, well below the usual term for growing
marijuana.
Rosenthal, 58, was convicted in January of cultivation and conspiracy
for growing marijuana at his Oakland warehouse. He said the marijuana
was for medical patients at San Francisco's Harm Reduction Center and
was legally grown under California's medical marijuana law,
Proposition 215 of 1996.
During the trial, Breyer excluded evidence of Prop. 215, saying it
was irrelevant to the federal law that bans growing marijuana for any
purpose. He also barred evidence of Rosenthal's claims that he had
been deputized as an officer in Oakland's medical marijuana program
and that he had heard secondhand that federal authorities would not
prosecute such officers.
After the trial, several jurors publicly disavowed their guilty
verdict after learning about the excluded evidence, and a majority of
the jury -- seven jurors and two alternates -- have urged Breyer not
to sentence Rosenthal to prison. State Attorney General Bill Lockyer,
a supporter of Prop. 215, has asked the judge to impose the minimum
term allowed by federal guidelines.
Federal law normally requires a five-year term for anyone convicted,
like Rosenthal, of growing more than 100 plants. But both the defense
and the probation department contend he is entitled to a shorter
sentence under a "safety valve" law covering certain first-time
offenders who acknowledge their conduct.
Prosecutors argue, however, that Rosenthal is ineligible for the
safety valve because of evidence that he supervised others in
marijuana growing. They also contend he was responsible for the
entire growing operation at the San Francisco center and that he was
never validly designated as an officer in Oakland.
E-mail Bob Egelko at begelko@sfchronicle.com
- --
- ----
Dale Gieringer (415) 563-5858 // canorml@igc.org
2215-R Market St. #278, San Francisco CA 94114
Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, May 29, 2003
5 years sought for pot grower / Feds say he hasn't admitted wrongdoing
SF Chronicle