cannabisnews.com: 5 Years Sought for Pot Grower 5 Years Sought for Pot Grower Posted by CN Staff on May 29, 2003 at 10:33:50 PT By Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer Source: San Francisco Chronicle 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. Note: Feds say he hasn't admitted wrongdoing. Snipped: Complete Article: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/05/29/BA33024.DTL Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)Author: Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff WriterPublished: Thursday, May 29, 2003 Copyright: 2003 San Francisco Chronicle - Page A - 16 Contact: letters sfchronicle.comWebsite: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/Related Articles & Web Site:Ed Rosenthal's Pictures & Articleshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/trialpics.htmMoment of Truth for Medical Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16440.shtmlLockyer Urges Leniency in Marijuana Casehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16431.shtmlGanja Guru -- If Only Truth Could Set Him Freehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16354.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #5 posted by 420toker on May 29, 2003 at 14:38:30 PT or rather Federal Prison or rather Federal Prison [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by 420toker on May 29, 2003 at 14:37:15 PT Here's the reality He is going to prison... not Club Fed where all the imbezzelers and money launderers friendly to the administration go. He is going to pound me in the ass state prison. He is also almost and 60 has the potential for many medical problems relating to his age. (my father is 60 and fairly healthy but has had 2 life threatening medical situations in the past 5 years) He will be given the same treatment that is designed to utterly break a 24 year old who has already lived in some of the harshest enviornments in the country (inner city). Not to mention all that can be done without even the consent of a judge, solitary confinment, putting him on the roughest cell block with the lifers, getting roughed up by the guards regularly. Dont believe me? dont think this happens? Look into the 30 odd cases pending aginst the Jester facilities in Texas. Only then will you understand. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Floyd on May 29, 2003 at 13:22:07 PT What the *#&$, WolfgangWylde? And WHY again do you think he will die from his prison term? America is going nuts with its drug war, but even with my highly cynical view of the DEA, I dont think that they would go so far as killing a peaceful criminal in a federal prison, or having him killed. No offence dude, but its time for a reality check..... [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by WolfgangWylde on May 29, 2003 at 11:24:34 PT Ed... ..should get out while he can. He has been a thorn in the side of the Drug Warriors for decades. IMHO, he will not get out of prison alive. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Dan B on May 29, 2003 at 10:52:57 PT: "Admitted wrongfullness"? "Falsely Clai "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."He did not admit to "wrongfulness" because what he did was not wrong. The fact that something is against federal law does not make it wrong. In fact, in this case the federal laws are wrong, and it is the prosecutors and others who support this system who should be facing jail time for their actions. Furthermore, a letter from the Attorney General of the State of California should clear up the matter as to whether Rosenthal was working in an official capacity for the city of Oakland. The audacity of claiming falsehood regarding Rosenthal's claim to have been working for a city of Oakland grow-op is unnerving. These feds really know how to lie, don't they? And in an official court document, no less! Of course, they've been lying every day since 1937 (and before then), so what's new?One hopes that the judge has a working brain and can tell the difference between lies and the truth. One also hopes that the judge is not afraid to base his sentencing on the truth. Given the events of this trial and the fact that it even has come to a sentencing phase, one wonders.Dan B [ Post Comment ] Post Comment