'GURU OF GANJA' FACES JAIL FOR PROVIDING POT

HIGHER CAUSE: The US Government Says The Trial Of Ed Rosenthal Is A Key
Battle In The War On Drugs, But California Politicians See It As A Fight To
Defend State's Rights

A high-profile American campaigner for the legalization of marijuana will
be sentenced today in what has become a national cause celebre.

The case of the "guru of ganja" -- who is backed by the attorney general of
California -- is seen as a constitutional battle between the US President
George W. Bush administration and the state.

Ed Rosenthal, 58, who writes a monthly advice column, "Ask Ed," for
Cannabis Culture magazine, is a leading proponent of medicinal marijuana use.

In 1996, California's voters legalized the use of marijuana for patients
suffering from illnesses such as AIDS, cancer and glaucoma if recommended
by a doctor. Similar acts have been passed in other states. Oakland City
Council duly asked Rosenthal, as an expert cultivator, to grow plants for
medicinal use at a warehouse.

However, the federal government does not recognize state laws on drugs.
Since John Ashcroft became US attorney general in 2000, the Drugs
Enforcement Administration (DEA) has opposed medicinal marijuana
initiatives, saying they represent the thin end of the wedge.

Rosenthal was arrested by federal officers last year and charged with
marijuana production. He was convicted and he will be sentenced in San
Francisco today.

On the instructions of presiding Judge Charles Breyer, the jury was not
told that Rosenthal was growing the 100 or so plants officially for the
city council and for the use of patients, including the terminally ill.
When jurors discovered this after the conviction, five of them issued a
public apology to Rosenthal and asked in vain for a retrial.

"I really feel manipulated," said one juror, Pam Klarkowsky. "I feel the
jury was railroaded into making this decision."

Rosenthal, author of books such as Ask Ed: Marijuana Law, Don't Get Busted,
said he believed that he had been arrested because of his high profile and
as a warning to others.

"I was a well-known figure," he said as he prepared for his court
appearance. "I was a trophy."

The case was not so much about him as about the constitutional rights of
Americans to have their votes respected by their government. Rosenthal
believed that Ashcroft had personally supported the prosecution.

"The United States is currently in the control of a rightwing cabal that
has taken over the government," he said.

Rosenthal, married with two children, said he had received widespread
support "from every sector of society, including the church and seniors. My
position is a majority position."

He has also won the backing of many locally elected officials, including
San Francisco's district attorney, Terence Halinan. Bill Lockyer,
California's attorney general who is a likely gubernatorial candidate in
2006, has written to Breyer asking for leniency and reminding him of the
state's 1996 Compassionate-Use Act.

The prosecution is seeking a five-year sentence on the grounds that
Rosenthal has expressed no remorse.

Rosenthal is the latest medicinal supplier in California to be targeted by
the DEA. Many medical marijuana clubs have been closed after federal raids.

The Rosenthal case has raised the constitutional issue of states' rights
which the Bush administration came to office vowing to defend. California's
Supreme Court ruled last July that people who grew marijuana for medicinal
use were immune from prosecution if use was authorized by a doctor.

The case coincides with a crackdown on sellers of marijuana paraphernalia.
Last month, Tommy Chong, half of the 1970s comedy duo Cheech and Chong,
pleaded guilty to selling marijuana pipes via the Internet. Chong, 64, who
is based in Los Angeles, will be sentenced in September and could face five
years in prison.

Sanho Tree, of the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, said the
prosecutions of Rosenthal and Chong came at a time when other countries,
such as Canada, were relaxing marijuana laws

"Ashcroft and the DEA are fighting a culture war, not a drugs war. It
smacks of a last, desperate attempt," he said.