NEWS: "Guru of Ganja" convicted again for growing medical marijuana
- From: "Juba" <juba@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 31 May 2007 12:08:56 -0700
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/31/national/main2870142.shtml
Marijuana Activist Convicted Again
SAN FRANCISCO, May 31, 2007(AP) The self-proclaimed "guru of ganja" was
convicted again Wednesday in federal court of illegally growing hundreds
of marijuana plants that he said were meant to treat sick people, which
state law allows.
Ed Rosenthal was convicted after U.S. District Court Judge Charles
Breyer prohibited the marijuana activist's lawyers from telling the jury
he was working for a pot club sanctioned by Oakland government
officials. The decision underscored the tension between federal law,
which prohibits marijuana, and laws in 11 states that have legalized pot
for medical purposes.
"We weren't allowed to give the jury valuable information it needed to
make a fair and unbiased decision," Rosenthal said.
The jury deliberated for about two days before convicting Rosenthal of
growing more than 100 marijuana plants, conspiring to cultivate the drug
and maintaining a growing operation in a warehouse. He was acquitted of
a fourth charge, and the jury couldn't decide on the fifth.
But the 63-year-old won't serve any time in prison. That's because he
was convicted of the same charges in 2003 and sentenced to a day in
prison because the judge said that Rosenthal reasonably believed he was
immune from prosecution because he was acting on behalf of Oakland city
officials.
An appeals court tossed out that conviction because of juror misconduct.
The judge, in a fruitless attempt to persuade federal prosecutors to
drop the case, has said he would not sentence Rosenthal to any more
prison time.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that marijuana is an illegal drug and
that federal law trumps state laws, which left Rosenthal without much of
a defense.
Federal prosecutor George Bevan declined to comment after the verdict
was read Wednesday.
A founder of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws,
Rosenthal once wrote the "Ask Ed" column for "High Times" magazine. He
has written books with titles such as "The Growers Handbook," "The Big
Book of Buds" and "Ask Ed: Marijuana Law. Don't Get Busted."
--
Juba
www.masterjuba.com
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