LAWYERS ASK COURT TO OVERTURN MAN'S MARIJUANA CONVICTIONS

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Attorneys for Ed Rosenthal, the self-described "Guru
of Ganja" who has written books on how to grow marijuana and avoid getting
caught, asked a federal appeals court yesterday to overturn his drug
convictions.

Rosenthal, convicted two years ago of growing and distributing hundreds of
marijuana plants, says he was authorized to do so by the city of Oakland
under a 1996 California medical marijuana law. U.S. District Judge Charles
Breyer refused to allow a jury to hear that defense, and Rosenthal was
prosecuted and convicted of being a major drug supplier.

Still, Breyer sentenced him to one day in prison on the grounds that
Rosenthal reasonably believed he was immune from prosecution because he was
acting on behalf of Oakland city officials. The government and Rosenthal
both appealed.

The government maintained that Rosenthal, now 60, should have gotten at
least 24 months. Amber Rosen, an assistant United States attorney, told a
three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that Breyer
abused his discretion by issuing a sentence that fell outside sentencing
guidelines.

Citing new law from the Supreme Court, the circuit court suggested it would
not increase Rosenthal's sentence.

"He departed from the guidelines. They are not mandatory," Judge Marsha
Berzon said.

Rosen suggested that the circuit should consider "the reasonableness of the
departure, not the legality of the departure."

Rosenthal's prosecution underscored the federal government's position that
medical marijuana is illegal, it has no medical value, and the will of
California voters has no effect on federal drug laws. The prosecution
received national attention in part because of Rosenthal's status as a
leading author and proponent of marijuana, while at the same time the Drug
Enforcement Administration was raiding Northern California marijuana
dispensaries that operators said distributed to sick and dying patients.

While the case was on appeal, however, the Supreme Court ruled that the
federal government can prosecute medical marijuana growers and users
despite California's medical marijuana law.

That decision, which applied retroactively, upheld the federal government's
authority to undermine California's medical marijuana law. At the time, it
had been questionable whether the federal government had such powers.

The justices also ruled in an unrelated case, while Rosenthal's prosecution
was pending appeal, that federal judges do not have to follow congressional
sentencing guidelines. That decision was also retroactive.

Dennis Riordan, one of Rosenthal's appellate attorneys, told the court that
Rosenthal's conviction should be overturned, or at least he should have
been given the opportunity to inform the jury at a new trial that he was
acting on behalf of Oakland officials, even if federal law prohibited
distributing marijuana.

"It's an affirmative defense based on the conclusion that somebody was
reasonably misled by public officials," Riordan said.

After Rosenthal's conviction, nine of the 12 jurors decried their own
verdict once reporters told them Rosenthal's defense, which Breyer said was
not allowed under the law.

The appeals court did not indicate when it would rule.