cannabisnews.com: The Jury Never Rests 





The Jury Never Rests 
Posted by CN Staff on June 01, 2003 at 09:08:33 PT
By Vicki Haddock, Insight Staff Writer
Source: San Francisco Chronicle 
This is the extraordinary saga of one jury that, after the judge said, "Case closed," simply refused to be excused -- or to excuse the judicial system. To the contrary, many of the federal jurors who in February convicted Oakland pot guru Ed Rosenthal of felony marijuana cultivation are devoting about as much time and effort to the case now as they did during the trial. They're campaigning for a "Truth in Trials" law which would change how juries in drug cases operate. 
And when Rosenthal is sentenced Wednesday, those jurors intend to be in the courtroom -- in a symbolic display of their support, like the letter they just delivered to the judge requesting that he ensure Rosenthal's "uninterrupted freedom." "How could we do anything else? How on Earth could we walk away when we had been part of the terrible injustice done to this man?" asks Charles Sackett, a landscape contractor from Sebastopol who was the jury's foreman. "We want the government to know that we, as concerned citizens, are watching them. None of us has any history of activism of any kind, really we're just average middle-class people. But going through this experience is turning us into activists," adds Sackett, who says he feels like "a shade plant that had been yanked out of the ground and put into the sun." The jurors were stunned and outraged to learn that U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer had prevented them from knowing Rosenthal was growing medical marijuana under the terms of California's Prop. 215, or that the city of Oakland had deputized Rosenthal to do so. While legal experts generally agree with Breyer's ruling (that no matter what his reasons, Rosenthal violated federal drug law), the jurors insist they had a right to hear that Rosenthal was a grower sanctioned to help sick people, not some drug kingpin. Sackett recalls that within minutes of rendering the verdict, he felt whacked by a splintered 2-by-4 when reporters revealed the full circumstances that he hadn't been allowed to now. On impulse, he went public with his protest -- even saying he hoped Rosenthal would win on appeal. Soon jurors were contacting one another by phone, sharing their sense of betrayal at what juror Marney Craig, a Marin County property manager, labeled "a cruel charade." "I've had trouble sleeping, because I wake up at 4 o'clock in the morning and can't stop thinking about what I had unwittingly participated in. For weeks I had trouble eating because I just had this pit in my stomach," said juror Eve Tulley-Dobkin of San Francisco, a financial services project manager. "I knew I needed to apologize not just to Mr. Rosenthal and his family, but to the people of California who passed Prop. 215, not to mention all the sick people who are no longer going to get their medicine." Undoubtedly the federal Drug Enforcement Agency, whose spokesman initially hailed the verdict with, "The people have spoken," would prefer now that the people would just zip it. Instead they are popping up on NBC's "Dateline" to denounce their own verdict. They're attending press conferences in support of a bill introduced by three California congressmen to permit a "medical defense" in marijuana prosecutions. Sackett has been asked to testify in a Canadian extradition trial about whether people charged with pot offenses can obtain justice in U.S. courts. Snipped:  Complete Article: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/06/01/IN87342.DTL Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)Author: Vicki Haddock, Insight Staff WriterPublished: Sunday, June 1, 2003Copyright: 2003 San Francisco Chronicle - Page D - 1 Contact: letters sfchronicle.comWebsite: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/Related Articles & Web Site:Ed Rosenthal's Pictures & Articleshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/trialpics.htmMedical Marijuana Ruling Ignores State, Local http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16450.shtmlGanja Guru -- If Only Truth Could Set Him Freehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16354.shtml High Crimes? - Dateline NBC http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15530.shtml
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Comment #7 posted by kaptinemo on June 02, 2003 at 09:39:39 PT:
You want a first rate 'comic book' presentation?
One that speaks to both young people and Nofs (nasty old f*rts) like yours truly?Go here:
A Drug War Carol (largely based upon the "A Christmas Carol" 
http://adrugwarcarol.com/I rarely ever give reviews of anything despite some request in the past, so when I say it's first rate, I mean it. It is unrelenting in hammering nails into and splintering the dead wood of the lies that comprise the DrugWar and the cognitive disconnects that it fosters. It's clear and concise, informing without preaching, and puts the antis on the spot by calmly and methodically illustrating their hypocrisies and deflecting them back in their faces. It shows in very graphic detail the 'mission creep' of how the early laws morphed into the behemoth we are confronted with, and how they were twisted by sanctimonious opportunists who wrapped themselves in morality to engage in their ruthless and unConstitutional campaigns for largely personal gain. Many people, including myself, thought they were conversant with every aspect of DrugWar history...until I went there and learned some things I didn't know previously, thanks to the diligent research of the author/artists.Have a look; it's more than worth it...
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Comment #6 posted by Virgil on June 01, 2003 at 20:15:25 PT
Ekim
The Feeney Amendment tacked onto the Amber Alert Bill became effective 5/30/03. Senator Kennedy filed Senate Bill 1806 last week that would repeal it. I thought about the video game concept for advancing cannabis freedom with art. I see it as interactive video with a trial scenario where you pick jurors to defend different situations. A person could pick witnesses and questions in an interactive game. Like I pick Jack Herer of course and Marc Emery and Dr. Russo for witnesses. I think it would carry the culture and the truth of which we sing if personalities in the reform spotlight, even in caracature, were projected in the art arena. I would think that the first movie supporting liberation would be in a trial setting because of the conflict needed to make a good story. There are a lot of stories need telling. I also wonder about American tourist going to Spain in a movie. It would be Cheech and Chong time with real primo. It may come to us with subtitles, but the Spanish experience will have to become reality. Where better to make a movie than Spain, especially if you are Spanish with a new genre awaiting a starving audience.I think I better quit wondering and wandering now. 
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Comment #5 posted by ekim on June 01, 2003 at 19:43:26 PT
thanks Virgil for comment 3
A similar dynamic can be seen in today's war on drugs. The latest example is a law President Bush signed last month. The measure, attached to the Amber Alert bill by Senator Joseph Biden, Democrat of Delaware, holds club owners responsible for drug use on their property. ----Mr Biden has run for Pres. and thinking about doing so again. Is this how he invisions the great USA becomming. For every Baseball game--Nascar event---concert -- rodeo- hocky- football-basketball--ect-ect-ect- 
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Comment #4 posted by afterburner on June 01, 2003 at 18:23:06 PT:
Cannabis Rubs Shoulders with Other Herbs
From the snipped portion:"I now feel like I have a lot in common with Mr. Rosenthal. We both enjoy growing plants. We just grow different plants," said jury foreman Sackett, a self-described "simple gardener"Having just returned today from the Annual Herb Fair in Toronto http://www.herbalists.on.ca/annualherbfair.html , I found cannabis foods and books about cannabis rubbing shoulders with other herbs and books about herbs. How natural! BTW the organic maple-flavored Cool Hemp ice "cream" made with hempseed oil was delicious and the price was competitive. Cool Hemp Company http://www.coolhemp.com/en_home.htm . The Hempola brownies made from hempseed flour and topped with hempseed oil were yummy too. Hempola Valley Farms - Hemp Based Functional Food & Products
http://www.hempola.com/ego transcendence follows ego destruction, I can't wait for the harvest.
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Comment #3 posted by Virgil on June 01, 2003 at 10:59:28 PT
Valuable information in London Times article
In an article that appears at http://www.ukcia.org/news/shownewsarticle.php?articleid=6096 it speaks of mass drug screenings starting with a UK concert in August with the use of a computerized system
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on June 01, 2003 at 10:03:01 PT
Virgil
That is good news. I hope they don't say no.
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Comment #1 posted by Virgil on June 01, 2003 at 09:59:38 PT
Switzerland votes June 17-18
This is from an individual's comment from http://www.hempcity.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=100&highlight=mark your calendars for this. June 17-18 of this year, the lower house of Swiss Parliament will vote on the Swiss cannabis legalization bill introduced by the government two years ago. It has already passed in the senate; it faces some opposition still, and the conservatives are threatening to force a national referendum. But conceivably, 6/17-18 could be the beginning date for what appears to be a Dutch-style decriminalization of the possession, sale, & cultivation of marijuana. 
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