cannabisnews.com: Feds Target Rosenthal





Feds Target Rosenthal
Posted by CN Staff on July 08, 2003 at 08:59:30 PT
By J.K. Dineen of The Examiner Staff
Source: San Francisco Examiner 
Still licking their wounds, federal prosecutors have fired another shot at freed grass guru Ed Rosenthal, appealing the light sentence that let the convicted medical pot grower walk away a free man last month.  The motion, filed late Thursday in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, does not go into any detail about the grounds of appeal, according to Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Jacobs, who would not comment on why the Department of Justice decided to appeal the sentence.
Rosenthal, who despite getting zero jail time is appealing the felony conviction, said the government's appeal was "not surprising."  "They are wasting more taxpayers' money trying to put me in prison for this," said Rosenthal. "It would be absurd, if it were not so serious."  Rosenthal was convicted last spring of growing pot in an Oakland warehouse. The marijuana growing operation, which supplied a dispensary on Sixth Street in San Francisco, was legal under California law and had been inspected and signed off on by Oakland city officials.  But because federal law does not recognize medical pot, Judge Charles Breyer excluded any testimony dealing with California law, which allows for the medical use of weed with doctors' approval. After the trial, a majority of the jurors who convicted Rosenthal said they would have reached a different verdict had they been allowed to consider the purposes of the growth and that Rosenthal was acting in accordance with local and state laws.  Golden Gate University law school dean Peter Keane said the government usually appeals sentencing only when it falls outside of sentencing guidelines, which Rosenthal's did not. He suggested the appeal would not get very far.  "I think the Ninth Circuit is going to knock that appeal down quicker that you can knock down a stack of cards on your desk," said Keane.  Keane said the San Francisco United States Attorney's office is being pressured to take a stand by the U.S. Justice Department, which does not recognize medicinal uses of pot.   "The U.S. Attorney got its marching orders from Washington, as a matter of course," he said. "(Attorney General John) Ashcroft is very idealistic on the subject of marijuana and medical marijuana and wants the U.S. Attorney to emphasize the fact that they don't like it."  Rosenthal said U.S. Attorney George Bevan, who led the government's case against him, should let it rest.  "They should be happy with what they got," he said. "Right now, I'm a felon and by the time I'm done with this, not only will I be exonerated, the courts will find that these laws should be thrown out."Source: San Francisco Examiner (CA)Author: J.K. Dineen of The Examiner Staff Published: July 8, 2003Copyright: 2003 San Francisco ExaminerContact: letters sfexaminer.comWebsite: http://www.examiner.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Ed Rosenthal's Pictures & Articles http://freedomtoexhale.com/trialpics.htmFeds Begin Appeal Process In Rosenthal Case http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16775.shtml'Guru of Ganja' Sees Cracks Developing in Lawshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16597.shtmlReefer Madness: Our Current Prohibitionhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16587.shtml 
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Comment #4 posted by CorvallisEric on July 08, 2003 at 15:13:23 PT
Democrats (comment 3)
1 - Sen. Bob Graham (D-FL) told MPP's Aaron Houston that although as president he would not sign legislation that would allow seriously ill people to use marijuana, he would respect and defer to the laws of the individual states. "If a state, like Oregon, has said that this, their judgment, is appropriate, I would, although I would disagree with it, I would defer to the state judgment." Doesn't that sound hideously familiar? It would be a lot more encouraging if he specifically criticized Bush, who said roughly the same before election day.2 - Howard Dean - there is no politically rational explanation for his attitude toward medical MJ. Surely, he's lost any chance of consideration by "conservatives" because of his stand on gay rights. I'll bet that's most of what you'll hear about him if he survives the first primaries. He has very little to lose and a lot to gain by supporting at least medical MJ, if not more general drug reform. I would even re-register as a Democrat if he gave me reason to.
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Comment #3 posted by druid on July 08, 2003 at 13:32:14 PT
MPP pressures presidential candidates
Dear Friend,The Marijuana Policy Project's work to pressure the presidential
candidates on the medical marijuana issue in New Hampshire is really
starting to pay off. In just the past week, representatives of Granite
Staters for Medical Marijuana (GSMM) -- a campaign of the Marijuana
Policy Project -- have confronted all four U.S. senators running for
the Democratic Party's nomination and have forced them to make public
statements on the issue. Without GSMM, most of these candidates'
positions would be unknown.Please visit http://www.GraniteStaters.com/donate to donate as much as
you can to this project. (There are no campaign contribution limits.)
Our work in New Hampshire is completely unfunded at this point, so
every dollar you give will help us turn up the heat on the
presidential candidates. Alternatively, if you do not donate to our
presidential campaign work, MPP will be hard-pressed to maintain our
campaign through the January 27, 2004, New Hampshire primary.GSMM supporters have cornered Senators John Kerry, Bob Graham, Joe
Lieberman, and John Edwards during the past week. The results have
been surprisingly favorable. * On July 2, Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) told New Hampshire medical
  marijuana advocate Linda Macia that he was "in favor of" medical
  marijuana. Ms. Macia said that Sen. Kerry "came right out and
  said, 'I'm in favor of it.'" Kerry added that he is "in favor of
  its prescription." This is a positive statement from Sen. Kerry,
  who is a top contender for the Democratic presidential nomination. * The next day, Sen. Bob Graham (D-FL) told MPP's Aaron Houston that
  although as president he would not sign legislation that would
  allow seriously ill people to use marijuana, he would respect and
  defer to the laws of the individual states. "If a state, like
  Oregon, has said that this, their judgment, is appropriate, I
  would, although I would disagree with it, I would defer to the
  state judgment." While it is clear that Sen. Graham personally
  opposes medical marijuana, his statement that he would support the
  rights of states that have decided to protect patients is an
  encouraging development. * On July 6, Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT) told GSMM that he would
  "probably" sign legislation to allow seriously ill people to use
  medical marijuana with their doctors' approval and that he is
  "sympathetic" on the issue. This statement represents a possible
  change of heart for Sen. Lieberman. In 1998, he endorsed a
  resolution in Congress that supported the arrest and imprisonment
  of medical marijuana patients. * Not all developments were positive, however. Last night, before a
  national C-SPAN audience, Sen. John Edwards (D-NC), in response to
  a question from Ms. Macia, said that as president he would "put
  together a group of people" to study whether medical marijuana is
  "important to provide pain relief." Such a study would offer no
  relief in the short term to patients who are living with the
  threat of DEA raids hanging over their heads. Interestingly, when
  confronted by GSMM representatives after the televised portion of
  the town hall meeting, Sen. Edwards claimed that the fact that
  Californians are being raided is "all new information" to him. He
  offered to look at the information and provide GSMM with a
  response. * Meanwhile, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean continues to struggle
  to nail down his own position on medical marijuana. Earlier last
  week, on June 30, Dean retreated from a previous promise to ask
  the Food and Drug Administration to report on the evidence
  regarding marijuana's medical safety and efficacy within 60 days
  of taking office. Dean stated on his Web site that marijuana
  should not be treated any differently than other drugs up for FDA
  approval. As governor, Dean blocked legislation that would have
  protected patients in Vermont. * In another remarkable development likely attributable to the
  efforts of GSMM, an article about Dean in The Economist described
  his positions on various issues. Medical marijuana was one of only
  eight issues discussed. Although we cannot read every article ever
  printed, we are almost certain that this is a first for coverage
  of a leading presidential contender.The pressure on the presidential candidates will continue. Already,
nearly 100 New Hampshire residents have volunteered to assist Granite
Staters' efforts. With this level of grassroots support and,
hopefully, a similar outpouring of financial support, the medical
marijuana issue will be prominent throughout the campaign.Sincerely,Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.P.S. Again, please visit http://www.GraniteStaters.com/donate to
   donate to our effort to inject the marijuana issue into
   presidential politics. Thank you in advance for your support.
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Comment #2 posted by WolfgangWylde on July 08, 2003 at 11:29:37 PT
The funny...
...part is watching Conservatives get all bent out of shape at the Supreme Court interfering in Texas' sodomy laws, while at the same time cheering the Supreme Court for interfering in California's medical marijuana laws. Hypocrites, one and all.
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Comment #1 posted by Trekkie on July 08, 2003 at 09:56:17 PT
Hmmm.
Didn't the Bush administration berate Gore for demanding a recount, after they stole the election?And, aren't they doing the same thing? Except, the anti-prohibitionists did not "steal the election."
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