GURU OF GANJA HAS FRIEND IN COURT

California AG urges judge to be lenient

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- California's attorney general urged a federal judge
to be lenient when he sentences the "Guru of Ganja" on a marijuana
cultivation conviction.

Ed Rosenthal, 58, says he legally grew marijuana for medical use under a
1996 law approved by California voters. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer
refused to allow a jury to hear that defence.

In a two-page letter submitted Tuesday, Attorney General Bill Lockyer asked
Breyer to impose a sentence on June 4 that considers the California
Compassionate Use Act of 1996.

The law, Lockyer noted, "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."

Rosenthal's prosecution underscored the federal government's position that
medical marijuana is illegal and the will of California voters has no
affect on federal drug law.

Nine of the 12 jurors asked the judge not to imprison Rosenthal. The
federal probation department recommended Rosenthal receive a 21-month
sentence. The maximum term is 60 years.

Prosecutors have not said what term they'll seek.

Rosenthal once wrote a column for High Times magazine and has written books
with titles including The Big Book of Buds.