cannabisnews.com: Medical Issues, City Law Disallowed in Pot Trial Medical Issues, City Law Disallowed in Pot Trial Posted by CN Staff on January 15, 2003 at 12:31:23 PT By Josh Richman, Staff Writer Source: Tri-Valley Herald Jury selection began Tuesday for the trial of pro-marijuana author and activist Ed Rosenthal of Oakland, who faces federal drug charges for growing marijuana under the state's medical marijuana law. But evidence of that state law and Oakland's city ordinances will be excluded from his trial under an order U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer of San Francisco issued Monday barring Rosenthal from mounting a defense based on medical issues. The trial begins next Tuesday and is expected to last more than a week. Defense attorneys had hoped to show jurors that California voters in 1996 passed a ballot measure permitting medical marijuana use, and that Oakland has passed ordinances to regulate medical marijuana cultivation and distribution and protect cultivators from prosecution. Rosenthal thought these state and local laws meant he was acting legally, defense attorneys wanted to contend. But this is a federal trial alleging a violation of federal law, which still bans all cultivation, distribution, possession and use of marijuana. Breyer granted prosecutors' motion to exclude discussion of medical issues. Still, Rosenthal's lawyers believe Breyer might let Rosenthal testify about his state of mind and the basis for his decisions -- specifically, that he relied on city and state officials' statements in forming his own belief that he wouldn't be prosecuted. Rosenthal, 58, a widely known marijuana activist and author, was among those arrested last February when Drug Enforcement Administration agents raided his home office and other Oakland sites, the Harm Reduction Center medical marijuana club in San Francisco and the Petaluma home of Harm Reduction Center founder Ken Hayes. Court documents show the DEA claims the Harm Reduction Center, to which Rosenthal allegedly helped supply marijuana, used the state law to mask illegal activity. The case has become a rallying point for medical marijuana activists.Note: Attorneys had hoped.Source: Tri-Valley Herald (CA)Author: Josh Richman, Staff WriterPublished: Wednesday, January 15, 2003Copyright: 2003 MediaNews Group, Inc.Website: http://www.trivalleyherald.com/Contact: apacciorini angnewspapers.comRelated Articles & Web Site:Medicinal Cannabis Research Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/research.htmFirst Stage of Trial for Ed Rosenthal Underwayhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15195.shtmlSelection of Jury in Pot Case Moved Up http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15169.shtmlTrial Looms for Medical Pot Figure from Oaklandhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15149.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #8 posted by FoM on January 16, 2003 at 20:41:39 PT Dr. Ganj That would be best I believe too. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by Dr Ganj on January 16, 2003 at 20:31:14 PT Federal Court Means Prison Time, Everytime Ed is in a heap of dung this time. The feds will do everything they can to get a conviction. Only an intervention by God could he possibly get out of this, and I'm certain God doesn't care about groovy grass growers like us. When I was in court on a cultivation charge, I prayed long and hard to God, only to end up in jail cleaning up vomit and garbage, and dealing with filthy, nasty, pigs. I strongly recommend Ed travel up north to the Sunshine Coast in B.C. where several other Americans have gone to evade a lengthy prison term. To stay and be a martyr for the cause is honorable, but that is really the wrong decision to make. Ed could help more people by being free in Canada or Switzerland. Let's hope Ed has thought this chess game out thoroughly, as the stakes are very high, indeed. To expect a jury nullification on a case like this is pure fantasy. Look at all the other people in prison right now that thought they'd get a break. That's not real, I know.Dr. Ganj [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by WolfgangWylde on January 16, 2003 at 04:44:37 PT The Feds... ...have been after Ed for years. They'll railroad him for sure. I'd make tracks for Canada, if I were in his position. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by mayan on January 15, 2003 at 18:25:41 PT 10th Amendment I hope Ed or his attorneys get a chance to mention the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution... "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."Oh, My God! I can't believe what is going down. It looks like Uncle Sam now has someone to do his dirty work...Israel to kill on U.S., allies'' soil: http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20030115-035849-6156rThe way out is the way in -The 9/11 Investigative Community: http://www.falloutshelternews.com/911Community.htm9/11 - Guilt In High Places: http://emperors-clothes.com/indict/911page1&2.htmThe 9/11 Conspiracy: http://members.aol.com/sneiracs/911.htmMake No Mistake About It - 9/11 Was An Inside Job: http://www.voxnyc.com/archives/00000076.htm9/11 - The Road To Tyranny (Realplayer Video) http://sf.indymedia.org/uploads/the_road_to_tyranny__34kbps_.ramAftermath: Unanswered Questions from 9/11(QuickTime Video, parts 1-4) http://www.guerrillanews.com/after_math/The 9/11 Truth Movement - Selected Resources for Researchers and Activists: http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/LEV212A.html9/11 "Conspiracies" and the Defactualisation of Analysis: http://www.mediamonitors.net/mosaddeq37.html9/11 Skeptics Unite: http://www.osamaskidneys.com/links.htmlPaul Thompson's Complete 9/11 Timeline: http://cooperativeresearch.org/completetimeline/The People's Investigation of 9/11: http://www.911pi.com/More 9/11 Links: http://www.keystonereport.com/911.htm [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by BigDawg on January 15, 2003 at 15:03:41 PT A Tale of Two Cities Wow, that thought sent a shiver up my spine.So true.So unfortunately true. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Sam Adams on January 15, 2003 at 14:57:41 PT Show trial I've been reading a lot about England and Canada lately.Even though Medical MJ was totally illegal at the federal and local level in those countries, in every trial of a compassion group, medical MJ was freely mentioned throughout the entire trial.It's interesting to also note that in England, Colin Davies served just over a year in jail for running a full-on commercial MJ sales operation. Here in the US, we put crippled people (Todd M.) in jail for 5 years for a medical-only operation - or even 10+ years (Brian Epis, Ed Rosenthal). The American Justice system is rotten to the core - any autonomy it had as an independent 3rd government branch was lost long ago. During the Reagon era, the "conservatives" set out to make sure that the Judiciary would never again expedite social justice issues as it did during the civil rights, abortion rights, and human rights era of the 60's and 70's. They were successful.It's now reminiscent of the French Revolution show trials leading to the guillotine. Anyone read "Tale of Two Cities"? [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by FoM on January 15, 2003 at 14:47:17 PT NoahTao Thank you for the information. I hope that all that can go and support Ed thru this trial will do it. If we don't pull together as a group of concerned activists and if it doesn't go well we will only have ourselves to blame. We've come to far to turn back now. Thanks again! [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by NoahTao on January 15, 2003 at 14:37:59 PT: People with visual disabilities needed!!!!!!!!!!! Greetings fellow cannabis supporters. I was contacted this morning by Jeff Jones of the OCBC defence team. He informed that that because the Judge had excluded any medical defence from the trial, people with visual disabilities (wheelchair users/canes/walkers)are encouraced to attend the trial to SHOW the jurors that this is a medical case. If the jurors can see that people with disdabilities are in support of Ed, maybe they will be more compassionate in their decisions. The trail starts tuesday the Federal building in San Francisco on the 19th floor, Judge Breyers courtroom. You will need a government issued ID to attend the trail. Thank you for all your continued support. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment