POT ADVOCATE GETS 1 DAY IN JAIL AND GIVES JUDGE A PIECE OF HIS MIND

Marijuana advocate Ed Rosenthal lectured a federal judge Friday before
being sentenced to a day in jail -- which he has already served -- for
growing pot plants for medicinal use.

"I am proud of what I did. I know I have done nothing wrong,"
Rosenthal told U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer. Referring to the
two juries that convicted him of violating federal drug laws without
hearing evidence that the marijuana was intended for medical use,
Rosenthal said, "You have now hurt 24 jurors. ... You left them
feeling guilty about their unwitting role in these faux trials."

Breyer said Rosenthal could take his grievances to the federal appeals
court that overturned his first conviction. The judge also issued a
written decision rejecting Rosenthal's claims that he was denied a
fair trial because evidence about medical marijuana was excluded and
more than half the prospective jurors were dismissed because of their
views on the issue. Rosenthal told reporters he would appeal the conviction.

Rosenthal, 62, of Oakland is an authority on marijuana cultivation, a
former columnist for High Times magazine and a longtime advocate of
marijuana legalization. Arrested in 2002 after federal agents seized
more than 3,700 plants at his Oakland warehouse, Rosenthal was
convicted the following year of growing marijuana, conspiracy and
maintaining a building for illegal cultivation. The appeals court
overturned that conviction on the grounds of misconduct by a juror who
called a lawyer for advice during deliberations. Rosenthal was
convicted by another jury on May 30.

The charges normally carry a sentence of at least five years in
prison. But Breyer imposed only a one-day sentence after the first
trial, saying Rosenthal had believed he was acting legally because
Oakland had designated him its agent in the city's medical marijuana
program.

An attempt by prosecutors to add charges of money-laundering and tax
evasion for the second trial was rejected by Breyer, who said the
government was retaliating for Rosenthal's successful appeal and his
criticism of the case. Prosecutors proceeded with the retrial but
conceded they could not seek additional punishment.

In both trials, Breyer barred evidence that the marijuana was intended
for medical use under Proposition 215, the 1996 California initiative
allowing patients to use the drug with their doctor's approval. He
agreed with the prosecution that the evidence was irrelevant under
federal law, which prohibits the possession, cultivation and
distribution of marijuana, and does not recognize any legitimate use
for the drug.

In his written ruling Friday denying a new trial, Breyer said he had
not excluded jurors for holding particular viewpoints on medical
marijuana, but dismissed only those who said they could not judge the
case impartially. He also said his rulings on medical marijuana
evidence were upheld by the appeals court that overturned Rosenthal's
first conviction.