cannabisnews.com: Moment of Truth for Medical Marijuana





Moment of Truth for Medical Marijuana
Posted by CN Staff on May 29, 2003 at 08:38:20 PT
By Robert Kampia, AlterNet
Source: AlterNet
On May 22, the state-federal conflict over medical marijuana heated up, as Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich defied White House pressure and became the first Republican governor to sign a medical marijuana bill. Meanwhile, on June 4, a federal court in California is scheduled to sentence Ed Rosenthal to at least five years in federal prison for the crime of providing medical marijuana to seriously ill people.
Rosenthal was convicted on January 31 of growing marijuana, but he was convicted by a jury that heard only half the story. When the jurors discovered the crucial facts that had been withheld from them, half of them took the extraordinary step of publicly renouncing their own verdict and apologizing to the man they had just convicted. Juror Marney Craig wrote in the San Jose Mercury News, "Rosenthal's attorneys were not allowed to tell us the critical facts: He grew marijuana for use by people suffering from cancer, AIDS and other horrible diseases whose physicians had recommended it. ... I helped send a man to prison who does not belong there." The evidence for marijuana's medical usefulness grows every day. Just this May, the esteemed medical journal, The Lancet Neurology, stated that marijuana's active components "inhibit pain in virtually every experimental pain paradigm" and suggested that marijuana might become "the aspirin of the 21st century." The American public overwhelmingly supports protecting medical marijuana patients – 80 percent, according to a CNN/Time poll released in November. By signing the medical marijuana bill, Gov. Ehrlich placed himself squarely in the American mainstream. The response thus far from White House Drug Czar John Walters is simply to lie – making absurd statements comparing medical marijuana to "medicinal crack." Walters clings to the federal Controlled Substances Act, enacted back in 1970, which arbitrarily and wrongly declared marijuana to be without medical value. Because of this outdated law, federal courts – like the one that tried Ed Rosenthal – bar any discussion of medical use. Think about this: If you shoot your neighbor, you are allowed to explain why. Did you shoot in self-defense or to protect someone else from harm? Motivation is often the key to guilt or innocence. As Marney Craig put it, "All Ed Rosenthal did was grow some plants, but he wasn't allowed to tell us why." This is crazy, but Congress can fix it. A bipartisan coalition of U.S. House members has introduced the Truth in Trials Act (H.R. 1717). This bill would remove the federal gag placed on medical marijuana defendants in states that have chosen to allow medical use. The bill would let seriously ill patients or people assisting them explain that they were acting to relieve suffering in a manner permitted by state law, allowing them to avoid federal prison if the jury finds their evidence persuasive. This is a modest bill, one that would have no effect at all in states that have not chosen to legalize medical marijuana. In the states that have done so, juries would be able to hear the truth. Defendants facing federal prison for trying to help the sick could tell their stories without censorship. It's too late to help Ed Rosenthal, who faces a minimum of five years – and possibly as many as 40 years – in federal prison. But it's not too late to help others. This is an issue of basic fairness. Congress should pass the Truth in Trials Act without delay. And John Walters needs to start telling the truth or find another job. Robert Kampia is executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C., which led the lobbying effort for the Maryland medical marijuana bill.Source: AlterNetAuthor: Robert Kampia, AlterNetPublished: May 29, 2003Copyright: 2003 Independent Media InstituteContact: info alternet.org Website: http://www.alternet.org/DL: http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=16023Related Articles & Web Sites:Marijuana Policy Projecthttp://www.mpp.org/Ed Rosenthal's Pictures & Articleshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/trialpics.htm Lockyer Urges Leniency in Marijuana Casehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16431.shtmlEhrlich Signs Marijuana Law http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16363.shtmlBill Would Allow Medical Defense in Trials http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15937.shtml
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on May 29, 2003 at 20:47:18 PT
NBC Nightly News About Canada Decriminalization
If you scroll down you will see the video link to what was on NBC Nightly News tonight.http://www.msnbc.com/m/v/video_news.asp?0dm=N1BJV
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on May 29, 2003 at 19:05:15 PT
Swampie
This is why I think he didn't. Look at the pictures on this link. He is mild mannered and I just don't think he would. He knows he is right and has been respectful of the court. Court is very intimidating. All you want to do is be quiet and do what you are told. I think that Ed will survive because he seems like a survivor to me. It's isn't over yet.http://freedomtoexhale.com/trialpics.htm
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on May 29, 2003 at 18:49:46 PT
NBC Nightly News About Canada
It will be coming on very soon and thought I should post it. I missed it when it was on ET.
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Comment #6 posted by SWAMPIE on May 29, 2003 at 18:21:23 PT
ED ROSENTHAL...
I still wonder why Ed didn't yell out in front of the jurors"It was med-pot that I was growing!!!"
That comptemptuous statement would have given the jury reasonable doubt to acquit him,even though it would have been struck from the record,and how much time would he have served for a remark like that?I would have done it,if it was me.Screw that judge!!
onward through the fog! SWAMPIE
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on May 29, 2003 at 12:16:36 PT
Medicinal Toker
Thanks for explaining. Hopefully they will start to work together because it is everyones issue that cares about reforming the laws concerning Cannabis. We are the ones that suffer.
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Comment #4 posted by medicinal toker on May 29, 2003 at 12:08:33 PT
FoM
Sadly, there is often little cooperation between reform groups. Unfortunately the greater good does not always seem to be the overriding motivation for how they operate. The end result is that reform efforts suffer. 
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on May 29, 2003 at 11:47:26 PT
Medicinal Toker
Is MPP working with NORML? These things confuse me.http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread16360.shtml
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Comment #2 posted by medicinal toker on May 29, 2003 at 11:29:52 PT
What about the States' Rights Act to MMJ?
I cannot understand why Mr. Kampia would fail to mention the far more comprehensive, States' Rights to Medical Marijuana Act, reintroduced last week as HR 2233, and known last session as HR 2592.The States Right Bill reschedules cannabis so doctors can prescribe it in states where it is legal. Kampia admits it's too late to help Ed Rosenthal, and the Truth in Trials (TiT) Act is a modest bill. Why compromiuse when the public is already with us? All major reform groups should be pushing for a hearing on HR 2233. It's impact is far-reaching, and it does what over 80% of Americans support -- allows a doctor to prescribe cannabis like any other medicine. It's a far better bill, no ifs ands or buts!
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on May 29, 2003 at 08:55:21 PT
News Brief from The Oakland Tribune
Prosecutor Seeks Five-Year Prison Term for RosenthalBy WIRE REPORTSThursday, May 29, 2003 SAN FRANCISCO -- The prosecutor who successfully brought marijuana cultivation charges against Ed Rosenthal of Oakland is asking a federal judge to sentence the self-described "Guru of Ganja" to five years in prison, plus four years of post-prison supervision. The sentencing request by prosecutor George Bevan was included in court documents made available Wednesday, a day after California Attorney General Bill Lockyer urged U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer to be lenient when sentencing Rosenthal next week. Rosenthal, 58, said he legally grew marijuana for medical use under a 1996 law approved by California voters, and was deputized by the city of Oakland to carry out that task. But Breyer refused to allow a jury to hear that defense and Rosenthal was prosecuted as a major drug supplier. The federal Probation Department is recommending he receive a 21-month prison term, according to court documents. The maximum term is 60 years. Lockyer asked Breyer to impose a sentence that takes the California Compassionate Use Act of 1996 into account. During the trial, prosecutors argued that medical marijuana is illegal under federal law, that it has no medical value and that the will of California voters has no effect on federal drug law. 
 http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,82%257E1726%257E1422301,00.html
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