cannabisnews.com: Cooler Heads Rejoice Cooler Heads Rejoice Posted by CN Staff on June 05, 2003 at 10:32:06 PT By Bruce Bellingham of The Examiner Staff Source: San Francisco Examiner This is a hard morning for a rational person who has to react to an irrational situation," said Chris Rich, a medical marijuana rights activist from Oregon. He was standing in line yesterday with dozens of people to see grass guru Ed Rosenthal sentenced in San Francisco federal court. Rich was among the majority who believed that Rosenthal would go to federal prison. It seemed rational under the circumstances. It is irrational to many that our own government would punish people for providing grass to the sick and the suffering. Rosenthal had been convicted of growing marijuana -- lots of it. The feds demanded at least five years.In the courtroom, yesterday, prosecutor George Bevan said six and and a half years might be more like it. The courtroom and the packed hallway outside seemed to grieve in advance. As Rosenthal entered the courtroom with his daughter, 13-year-old Justine leaned against him. "Daddy, I'm scared," she said. He hugged her. Everyone looked a little scared. It became evident this day was about people's lives, not all about legal precedent or political posturing. The words, "rational" and "logic" and "reasonable" were invoked all morning. Yet none of it made much sense. How does the so-called will of the California electorate go ignored? ... There were motions made in an arcane language and worked out in legal lingo between gray-templed, bow-tied Judge Charles Breyer, Bevan and Rosenthal's attorney, Dennis Riordan. Bevan said Rosenthal's pot-growing enterprise was a "cash cow" with no altruistic purpose. People in the hallway, some in wheelchairs, groaned their displeasure. Riordan said to assume this case was a "garden variety" drug case was wrong. It was too different, it had no precedent, it will have no subsequent comparison. ... It is not clear if it was about states' rights, either. "I say, your honor, if you do the crime, you do the time," Bevan said, trying to state his case simply. But it wasn't simple. The suspense began to rise in the courtroom. Many thought Breyer had little lattitude in the sentencing guidelines. "Judge Breyer is a bad guy," one angry woman said in the hall. But most disagree. Judge Breyer is known as a fair judge, who had a difficult case. His wife, Sydney Goldstein, sat in the courtroom, intent, somber. Like the defendant, the judge brought some of his family along, too. ... Rosenthal had publicly vilified the court and the prosecutors. Riordan tried to reduce some of the damage those remarks might have incurred: "Mr. Rosenthal believes strongly in the First Amendment, your honor. So strongly that he often disregards what his attorneys say." In the end, such blandishments were not necessary. ... The judge said Rosenthal was likely unaware he was breaking federal law and assumed Oakland officials would protect him and his medical pot emporium. Rosenthal had even been "deputized" as a medical marijuana agent by the city, a nice Wild West touch. Riordan reminded the court that Rosenthal invited the fire inspector to his premises. "Maybe the fire inspector is a co-conspirator," Riordan suggested facetiously. The judge smiled a little. The mood in the courtroom began to change. Hope of leniency was in the air. ... "I found Mr. Rosenthal's testimony to be credible," stated Judge Breyer, as he began to reduce the legal gravity of Ed's crime. Rosenthal's supporters were holding their breath, afraid to make a move. In the end, Ed Rosenthal's astonishing openness about his activities did not seem to count so much as arrogance or naivete as it did innocence. Breyer sentenced him to one day -- which he had already served. No prison, a $1,000 fine and three years probation. He still could beat the conviction by an appeal. One seasoned legal reporter muttered, "If I'm ever found guilty of anything, I want Dennis Riordan next to me." ... Terence Hallinan, the San Francisco District Attorney who champions unmolested medical marijuana use, rushed past the U.S. marshals to hug Ed Rosenthal. "This decision by the judge was out of humane concern," said Hallinan. Throughout the proceeding, Rosenthal appeared serene. Perhaps he knew something we didn't . ... Outside the Federal Building, even the conspicuous clown, Wavy Gravy, looked a little lost in a jubilant crowd that followed the TV cameras that followed Ed Rosenthal. "I think Ed might appeal the sentence," Wavy quipped. "This isn't a throwback to the good-spirited days of the past," Wavy said to me. "This is a good thing for these times." ... The Rosenthal case punches a hole in the federal cases against medical marijuana, with a mighty assist by Judge Charles Breyer. On a day that began so cloudy, words like "rational" and "logic" and "reasonable" seemed to regain a little value for a while. If, in an irrational way, compassion won this day, let compassion have it. ... It's not just for justice, it's for Justine, too. ...Cover Picture of SF Examiner for June 05, 2003: http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/exmlg.jpgSource: San Francisco Examiner (CA)Author: Bruce Bellingham of The Examiner StaffPublished: Thursday, June 05, 2003Copyright: 2003 San Francisco ExaminerContact: letters sfexaminer.comWebsite: http://www.examiner.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Ed Rosenthal's Trial Pictures & Articleshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/trialpics.htmPot Guru Walks - San Francisco Examinerhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16541.shtml Guru's Tirade on Marijuana Earns Respect http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16540.shtmlMedicinal Pot's Leader Receives Lenient Sentence http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16538.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #4 posted by The GCW on June 05, 2003 at 12:47:49 PT Shwag. Judge says cops are too nosy http://www.hempbc.com/articles/2969.htmlCanada's cannabis confusion http://www.hempbc.com/articles/2968.htmlCB1 for glaucoma & nausea http://www.hempbc.com/articles/2966.html& from the revolving quotes at Cannabis Culture:"I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man." - Thomas Jefferson - http://www.hempbc.com/ where Ask Ed is available for even the Federal Judges that wish to know how to grow it right, or left.And a quote from My tea bag string paper:Let the flowers pick You. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by FoM on June 05, 2003 at 12:44:27 PT The GCW I did notice that. Let's hope that one of the Globe and Mail's good writers will do an article about Ed and try to tie it together with the futility of the war on Cannabis. That would really be good I think. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by billos on June 05, 2003 at 12:34:25 PT: george bevan Federal prosecutor george bevan may as well be wearing a Swastika when he goes to work. The likes of bevan threaten Democracy. How ironic, and all in the name of The People. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by The GCW on June 05, 2003 at 12:33:46 PT Has anyone else noticed, Cannada is not covering this issue very well in the newspapers? [ Post Comment ] Post Comment