Pubdate: Wed, 28 May 2003
Source: Associated Press (Wire)
Copyright: 2003 Associated Press
Author: David Kravets, AP Legal Affairs Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Ed+Rosenthal

CALIF.'S AG URGES LENIENCY FOR POT 'GURU'

SAN FRANCISCO - California's attorney general urged a federal judge to be 
lenient when he sentences a self-described "Guru of Ganja" who was 
convicted on marijuana cultivation charges.

Ed Rosenthal, 58, says he legally grew marijuana for medical use under a 
1996 law approved by California voters, and was deputized by the city of 
Oakland to carry out the task. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer refused 
to allow a jury to hear that defense.

In a two-page letter submitted Tuesday, Attorney General Bill Lockyer asked 
Breyer to impose a sentence on June 4 that takes the California 
Compassionate Use Act of 1996 into account. The law, the attorney general 
wrote, "authorizes the possession or cultivation of marijuana for the 
personal medical purposes of the patient upon the written or oral 
recommendation or approval of a physician."

Rosenthal's prosecution underscored the federal government's position that 
medical marijuana is illegal and that the will of California voters has no 
affect on federal drug law.

The federal Probation Department recommended Rosenthal receive a 21-month 
prison term. The maximum term is 60 years. Prosecutors have not said how 
much time they are seeking and did not return a call Tuesday.

Lockyer asked Breyer "to impose the minimum sentence allowed under the 
federal sentencing guidelines." Dennis Riordan, Rosenthal's attorney, said 
the lowest allowable term would be no prison time at all.

Meanwhile, nine of Rosenthal's 12 jurors asked the judge Tuesday not to 
imprison Rosenthal. The panelists decried their own verdict after learning 
that Rosenthal was acting under the auspices of the city of Oakland's 
marijuana program.

"We feel strongly that Mr. Rosenthal deserves uninterrupted freedom because 
we convicted him without having all of the evidence," the nine jurors wrote 
Breyer.

Rosenthal once wrote a column for High Times magazine and has written books 
with titles including "The Big Book of Buds" and "Ask Ed: Marijuana Law. 
Don't Get Busted."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom