cannabisnews.com: Marijuana Advocate is in Court Today





Marijuana Advocate is in Court Today
Posted by CN Staff on June 04, 2003 at 07:12:20 PT
By John Simerman
Source: Contra Costa Times 
Oakland - Forgive the Guru of Ganja if he's feeling a bit groggy. Ed Rosenthal, marijuana expert and convicted federal criminal, stands in the kitchen of his 1870 Victorian above west Oakland, struggling to make coffee and argue his case at the same time.The night before was a late one for the 58-year-old husband and father of two. Rosenthal read from his book, "Why Marijuana Should Be Legal," to an approving Berkeley crowd and one man who shouted, in a thick Russian accent, that he deserved 20 years in prison.
"My reply was, I just hope he doesn't come down with some debilitating, not-good eventuality," said Rosenthal, wearing a ragged T-shirt, shorts and Birkenstocks.It was the kind of awkward public exchange that Rosenthal says he never sought when he signed on to grow pot plants for sick people under the auspices of Oakland's city ordinance for medical marijuana.But now, the balding marijuana advocate stands at the center of a legal debate that pits California's medicinal marijuana law, and similar laws in eight other states, against the U.S. Justice Department and a federal ban on the sale of marijuana for medical purposes.Rosenthal, who supplied young plants to marijuana dispensaries in Oakland and San Francisco, faces sentencing today on three counts of violating federal law, stemming from his February 2002 arrest for growing more than 1,000 plants. Federal prosecutors are asking for a five-year sentence."I was given permission. I was immune from prosecution. I could grow legally. It was a fantasy come true. I did not think I was flaunting the law," said Rosenthal. "I didn't ask for this. I have a successful publishing company, a pretty good life. Why would I do anything to risk that?"Even so, Rosenthal has become a cause celebre in marijuana-friendly circles.His case has drawn national attention, in part because most of the jurors who convicted him quickly came to his side when they learned he was operating under Proposition 215. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer had refused to let the jury hear testimony related to the 1996 state law."During the trial, I thought he was another drug dealer," said Charles Sackett III, the jury foreman. "He's quite an average person. He's an author, a family man, a gardener. He's a pawn."Nine jurors and California Attorney General Bill Lockyer all have asked Breyer to levy the lightest sentence possible. Rosenthal is not preparing for prison time. He figures Breyer will keep him free pending his appeal.Born in the Bronx, Rosenthal hung with the original Yippies, the attention-grabbing leftist group founded in 1967 by Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin. Rosenthal, however, stayed in the background. "I never saw myself as being on the cutting edge, as being this iconic leader. I was a person facilitating that, more of an operative."Unabashed in his desire to see marijuana legal for everyone, Rosenthal became a cultivation expert, helping found the weed-lover's magazine High Times, where he wrote a popular advice column called "Ask Ed."He and his wife, Jane Klein, run a publishing house out of their home. He has written a dozen self-help books on marijuana, including "The Big Book of Buds" and "Ask Ed: Marijuana Law (Don't Get Busted)." He also has often served as an expert witness, challenging law enforcement claims over the size of confiscated marijuana stashes.He said he was "just trying to get people over the hump with the hardest part of cultivation," growing young, pesticide-free "starts" that sick patients could nurture.Federal agents showed up at his door at 6 a.m., while other agents raided his Oakland warehouse and a San Francisco marijuana club.The raids followed a pledge by Asa Hutchinson, the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration, to enforce the federal ban. Federal officials were buoyed by a key U.S. Supreme Court ruling that clubs selling marijuana to seriously ill patients cannot defend themselves from federal prosecution by claiming that sick people would suffer or die without it.The ruling sent some medical marijuana clubs packing, and others underground.Richard Meyer, a DEA spokesman, would not discuss Rosenthal's case. But he cited major health groups that continue to oppose legalizing the sale and possession of marijuana, absent more convincing research."We feel Proposition 215 was a coup d'etat by the movement that wants to legalize not only marijuana but all drugs. They deceived the public in a spectacular way," said Meyer. "Marijuana is not medicine at all."Oakland officials sought protection from the federal ban by deputizing the Oakland Cannibas Buyers Cooperative, citing a federal statute written to immunize undercover narcotics cops. Breyer rejected that logic, which is bound to be a focus of Rosenthal's appeal."Our whole goal was to try to develop a system somewhat regulated," said Joe DeVries, field director for Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley, a former Oakland councilman.Rosenthal's goal goes a bit further, DeVries admitted."He's like your average middle-class Oakland guy whose got these pie-in-the-sky ideas. His dream was to hire welfare-to-work moms, pay them decent salaries and teach them horticulture. He wanted to see it taxed and lower the price," said DeVries."They say a hero is made when an ordinary person is thrown into extraordinary circumstances. That's what happened to Ed Rosenthal."Rosenthal laughs at the hero label, though he doesn't seem to mind the attention. "I think of a hero as someone who goes and volunteers for this. I was recruited by the government," he says, smiling. "They just chose the wrong person." Source: Contra Costa Times (CA)Author: John Simerman, Contra Costa TimesPublished: Wednesday, June 04, 2003Copyright: 2003 Knight RidderWebsite: http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimesContact: http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/contact_us/feedback/Related Articles & Web Site:Ed Rosenthal's Pictures & Articles http://freedomtoexhale.com/trialpics.htmPassions High as U.S. Ganja Guru Awaits Sentencing http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16512.shtmlFederal Persecution - New York Timeshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16464.shtml Calif.'s Lockyer Urges Leniency in Marijuana Casehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16431.shtml 
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Comment #13 posted by kaptinemo on June 04, 2003 at 10:48:38 PT:
Here it is, it's raise or call!
This is the moment I've been waiting for for a very long time.The forces of prohibition have for nearly 70 years had things their own way. But they knew that if any successful challenge were ever made to their Inquisition in the courts, it's all over but the shouting. Because, in the courts, they've lost the one case they could never afford to lose. Yes, they lost. LOST! They blew it. Breyer's sentencing of Mr. Rosenthal is obvious window dressing to serve his RepubliKKKan masters; despite the sentence, Ed WON. The only things they can do now to save themselves from the eventual crumbling of cannabis prohibition laws is massive intimidation of juries (and the FIJA people have scored a major victory here; that won't work for long, as knowledge of jury nullification spreads) or martial law.Only naked force can save their hides, now...and there's lots of people out there with weapons training that Uncle so thoughtfully provided us, who won't stand for it. They've raised the stakes, and the cannabis community has called them. Time to show all your cards, antis. No more stacked decks or marked cards.
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Comment #12 posted by Patrick on June 04, 2003 at 10:31:06 PT
I agree with SoberStoner
I am elated that Ed got off with a day for time served but he has been marked for something that is not a crime. By the way, Hi to you too FoM!!!
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Comment #11 posted by Imprint on June 04, 2003 at 10:21:56 PT
What a strange day
Today the “Guru of Ganja” was released and the “Domestic Guru” has ben given nine fedral grand jury counts. Martha better start smoking pot instead of insider trading. “Domestic Guru” – From CNN
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Comment #10 posted by afterburner on June 04, 2003 at 10:16:56 PT:
delta9, Thanks
Here are the details: Guru of Ganja Receives 1-Day Sentence http://www.kron.com/Global/story.asp?S=1307393&nav=5D7iGCDA
BREAKING NEWS: U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer sentenced convicted marijuana grower Ed Rosenthal to one day in federal prison with credit for time served, essentially setting him free.Ed said his case would be a tipping point. Indeed! We are winning! Congratulations, Ed. My prayers are answered again. ego transcendence trumps ego destruction and the medical cannabis patients will get protection, aid and succor.
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Comment #9 posted by SoberStoner on June 04, 2003 at 10:14:40 PT
Thats what i get for typing for 15 minutes..
But the facts remain, he still got punished for something that wasnt a crime.
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Comment #8 posted by SoberStoner on June 04, 2003 at 10:12:56 PT
Re: Comment 1
Since when is freedom to choose unconstitutional?Oh right, when it isnt profitable for those in charge.I think I'm going to head down to NORML HQ today, to see if I can talk to Keith Stroup and ask him what he is doing to make Ed's case the public example even mainstream media is using him as. It seems this is the perfect example (along with canadian and british policy changes) to start pushing NORMLs message, yet the last thing I remember from them is the ad last year about the NYC mayor admitting he smoked cannabis.I am not prepared to wait another 70 years for the truth to be publicly discussed, nor should I have to. The lies must stop, the dismantling of our freedoms and our constitution must stop...NOW, not tomorrow, not a year from now. Impossible? I dont think so, I cant think so, or else why are we here? Every day we sit on our hands, another family is dismantled, another house is stolen by drug pigs, and more upstanding american citizens are placed in a cage to face the horrors of our prison system, which has nothing to do with correction but everything to do with misery and pain. It's time for us to start pushing back the same way we've been pushed for 70 years. Stoner, pothead, hippy, etc should not be considered derogotory names, they are badges of honor, to be worn proudly by all freedom fighters. There are millions of us out there, yet we all sit and wait for someone else to take the stand. Ed has, and if we desert him to his fate, we all deserve the same fate. And if we do nothing, we will probably get it as the government will not stop until it is forced to stop.The time for quiet observation is over. Will you live in fear for another day, or will you proudly proclaim to the world that you believe in freedom and live the dream that the founders gave birth to over 200 years ago?SS
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Comment #7 posted by Imprint on June 04, 2003 at 10:09:41 PT
one day and....
One Day with time served, $1000 and probation. 
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Comment #6 posted by Ethan Russo MD on June 04, 2003 at 10:07:39 PT:
Great News
Ed is free. That's great, and we all should be very grateful. The government spent a fortune and they all look like fools. However, Ed should seriously consider an appeal to end the madness.
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Comment #5 posted by delta9 on June 04, 2003 at 10:00:08 PT
HE'S FREE!!!!
ED GOT 1 DAY!!!!!www.kron.com
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on June 04, 2003 at 09:47:11 PT
Kaptinemo 
I am really scattered today. I am worried but not giving up hope. Everything has gotten so bad. It wasn't all that long ago that we were hopeful but now with this administration and John Walters I just don't know. Is WAMM next?
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Comment #3 posted by kaptinemo on June 04, 2003 at 09:43:05 PT:
A poem to remember
Every time I think of the antis and their smug sense of invulnerability and moral rectitude in supporting a bankrupt policy, I remember the old poem by Langston Hughes:
"Harlem...A Dream Deferred":What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun
Or fester like a sore—
And then run?Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over—
Like a syrupy sweet?Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load. Or does it explode?The force of oppression which has been building and building for almost 70 years has forced the cannabis community to the exploding point. Whenever John Pee gets to pontificating about "BC Bud" being the equivalent of crack, it's really hard to take the man seriously. The lies of the Feds in general have become, as predicted so long ago, increasingly shrill and hysterical in inverse proportion of their increasingly being discounted by their audience. The more they scream and threaten, the more they prove themsleves incapable of rationality on the matter. And the more that irrationality becomes evident, the more people will be wondering just what the real problem here is.The day is coming fast, and Mr. Rosenthal's trial may have been the catalyst.
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on June 04, 2003 at 09:19:48 PT
New Pictures Added While We Wait
Here are the new pictures from today that I've found so far. Hi Patrick, It's nice to see you and I'm hoping for the best as all of us are.http://freedomtoexhale.com/trialpics.htm
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Comment #1 posted by Patrick on June 04, 2003 at 08:57:32 PT
Injustice?
It's been awhile since I posted here but this injustice prompts me to speak again. Especially when I read the following quote from cnn.com...."It is hard to believe somebody his age would not realize that marijuana is banned by federal law," said John Coleman, who rose from undercover agent to assistant head of the Drug Enforcement Agency before retiring after 32 years. "We live under a constitution, for better or for worse, and if it is going to serve us well we have to be consistent in how we accept it," he said. "The states like California have done a real injustice to a lot of their citizens by passing laws that are just so clearly unconstitutional." link: http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/06/04/medical.marijuana.reut/index.htmlSo, does this now mean arresting marijuana users is constitutional for the DEA?? I don't remember reading about that in my copy of the constitution. Oh, thats right, the DEA is above the law for our own protection. Bastards all of them. 
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