T
The420Guy
Guest
SAN FRANCISCO - Ed Rosenthal, the self-proclaimed "Guru of Ganja," goes
free after judge sentences him to one day in prison for marijuana
conviction.
He could have been sentenced to as much as 60 years.
The case was viewed as one that pitted state medical marijuana laws
against a federal ban on cannabis.
Rosenthal, 58, was arrested last year and convicted in February of
growing more than 100 plants in an Oakland warehouse.
Rosenthal said his actions were legal under a 1996 law passed by
California voters that permits marijuana use for medical purposes. He
also said he was acting as an agent for the city of Oakland's medical
marijuana program.
But U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer did not allow the jury to hear
those arguments.
The jury found Rosenthal guilty of marijuana cultivation, but several
jurors later said they would have acquitted him if they had known he was
growing the plants for patients in Oakland.
"I think it was wrong," Rosenthal said from his home Tuesday. "Once the
jury found out the whole truth, they agreed. They repudiated their
decision."
Rosenthal's case is being watched closely by marijuana advocates who
support the drug's use by the sick and dying. California is one of nine
states that have passed laws to allow patients to grow or smoke
marijuana with a doctor's recommendation.
In May, Breyer denied requests by Rosenthal's attorneys for a new trial.
Last week, California Attorney General Bill Lockyer asked Breyer for
leniency in Rosenthal's sentencing, citing the California Compassionate
Use Act of 1996. The federal probation department recommended a 21-month
prison term. The maximum sentence is 60 years.
Rosenthal said Tuesday he hoped the judge would allow him to stay free
on bail while he appealed the case.
"This is a tipping-point case because it puts the issue in stark black
and white," said Rosenthal, who has written magazine articles and books
about marijuana cultivation. "It's a question of whether patients will
be able to get the medicine they require."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
7:40 a.m., June 4, 2003
free after judge sentences him to one day in prison for marijuana
conviction.
He could have been sentenced to as much as 60 years.
The case was viewed as one that pitted state medical marijuana laws
against a federal ban on cannabis.
Rosenthal, 58, was arrested last year and convicted in February of
growing more than 100 plants in an Oakland warehouse.
Rosenthal said his actions were legal under a 1996 law passed by
California voters that permits marijuana use for medical purposes. He
also said he was acting as an agent for the city of Oakland's medical
marijuana program.
But U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer did not allow the jury to hear
those arguments.
The jury found Rosenthal guilty of marijuana cultivation, but several
jurors later said they would have acquitted him if they had known he was
growing the plants for patients in Oakland.
"I think it was wrong," Rosenthal said from his home Tuesday. "Once the
jury found out the whole truth, they agreed. They repudiated their
decision."
Rosenthal's case is being watched closely by marijuana advocates who
support the drug's use by the sick and dying. California is one of nine
states that have passed laws to allow patients to grow or smoke
marijuana with a doctor's recommendation.
In May, Breyer denied requests by Rosenthal's attorneys for a new trial.
Last week, California Attorney General Bill Lockyer asked Breyer for
leniency in Rosenthal's sentencing, citing the California Compassionate
Use Act of 1996. The federal probation department recommended a 21-month
prison term. The maximum sentence is 60 years.
Rosenthal said Tuesday he hoped the judge would allow him to stay free
on bail while he appealed the case.
"This is a tipping-point case because it puts the issue in stark black
and white," said Rosenthal, who has written magazine articles and books
about marijuana cultivation. "It's a question of whether patients will
be able to get the medicine they require."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
7:40 a.m., June 4, 2003