National Briefing

CALIFORNIA: MARIJUANA CONVICTION IS OVERTURNED

A federal appeals court overturned the marijuana-growing conviction of
Ed Rosenthal, a marijuana advocate who has written books on how to
grow marijuana and avoid being caught. The court cited jury
misconduct. Mr. Rosenthal was convicted in 2003 of cultivating
hundreds of marijuana plants for a City of Oakland medical marijuana
program. Judge Charles Breyer of Federal District Court sentenced him
to a day in jail. The government sought a two-year prison term and
appealed. Mr. Rosenthal cross-appealed. In the latest decision, a
three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth
Circuit, in San Francisco, said a juror had had inappropriate
communication with a lawyer. (AP)