ED ROSENTHAL TO BE SENTENCED WEDNESDAY

Could Escape Mandatory Minimum as Pleas for Leniency Roll In,
Supporters Prepare to Rally

In the denouement of the most highly-publicized federal medical
marijuana prosecution yet, long-time marijuana cultivation expert and
medical marijuana provider Ed Rosenthal will be sentenced Tuesday
after being convicted of operating a marijuana grow operation in
Oakland. And despite oft-repeated claims that he faced a five-year
mandatory minimum sentence, it now appears that he will qualify under
federal "safety valve" provisions for a lesser sentence -- possibly
even probation, although that remains unlikely.

Rosenthal was convicted in federal court of marijuana trafficking
after US District Judge Charles Breyer refused to let jurors hear his
defense that his operation was legal under California's medical
marijuana Compassionate Use Act and that he was deputized to perform
his medical marijuana cultivation duties by the city of Oakland, which
he believed would protect him from federal prosecution. Nine of the
jurors in the case later denounced their verdicts after hearing the
rest of the story, and eight of them are among those calling on Breyer
to exercise leniency during sentencing.

Prosecutors argued during the trial that federal law makes no
distinction for medical marijuana, that marijuana has no medical
value, and that federal law need not recognize the will of California
voters. Those same federal prosecutors, perhaps hearing the roaring
sound all around them, have asked for a five-year prison sentence,
followed by four years of probation. The maximum possible sentence is
60 years. But even the five-year request was undercut by an earlier
recommendation from the federal Probation Department that Rosenthal
receive a 21-month prison sentence.

Rosenthal's attorneys are asking for probation and community service,
arguing in documents filed with the court that Rosenthal was not a
drug trafficker but a humanitarian. Rosenthal acted to aid suffering
patients, his attorneys argued, he did not seek to profit from his
activity, and he believed his activities were legal based on state law
and advice from public officials.

Among their filings, Rosenthal attorneys included two letters they
hope will have some influence on Breyer. The first letter, from eight
of the jurors who convicted Rosenthal, asks Breyer to grant probation.
"We feel strongly that Mr. Rosenthal deserves uninterrupted freedom
because we convicted him without having all the evidence," the jurors
told the judge, their indictment of the legal system that produced
that verdict left unspoken but still hanging over their plea.

The second letter should also make Breyer sit up and take notice - it
is from California's highest law enforcement official. In it, Attorney
General Bill Lockyer reminded Breyer of the Compassionate Use Act's
existence and asked him to take it into account in sentencing
Rosenthal. The law "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," Lockyer
wrote. "Given the conflict between California and federal law
governing the legality of possessing marijuana for medicinal purposes,
I urge you to impose the minimum sentence allowed under the federal
sentencing guidelines."

Still, it's all up to Judge Breyer at this point. "It's hard to
predict the sentence," said California NORML (http://www.canorml.org)
head Dale Gieringer, "but probably some prison time. The prosecutors
are asking for five years because they say Ed hasn't shown remorse,"
he told DRCNet, "but I think all the remorse the jury has shown should
be sufficient."

And just in case Breyer is watching on his way to work Wednesday --
the media certainly will be -- medical marijuana supporters organized
by the aggressive grassroots defense campaign Americans for Safe
Access (http://www.safeaccessnow.org) will be rallying and doing
street theatre outside the courthouse in San Francisco before
Rosenthal's 8:30am sentencing. "It was originally set for 2:00 in the
afternoon, " said ASA spokeswoman Hilary McQuie, "but we think Judge
Breyer figured out that the middle of the day might not be a good
time. We expect a big crowd," she told DRCNet, adding that the San
Francisco events are part of a national day of action to kick-off
ASA's "Meet the 80%" [who support medical marijuana] summer campaign.

"In addition to the San Francisco action, we'll be doing jury rights
education in selected cities. We'll have banners with messages like
'Jurors: Acquit in all Pot Cases: It Could Be Medical,' and we'll be
handing out juror information cards," McQuie said. "And we're working with
the Marijuana Policy Project (http://www.mpp.org) to do a national day of
leafleting outside of the offices of members who haven't signed onto the
Truth in Trials Act."

Whatever sentence Rosenthal receives Wednesday, the Justice Department
of George Bush and John Ashcroft will have succeeded once again in
imposing punishment on a medical marijuana provider. But it will have
also succeeded in drawing the country's attention once more to the
cruelties of a policy that is increasingly unsupported - and
insupportable.