HOUSE SPEAKER WON'T BACK POT GROWERS

WASHINGTON -- House Speaker Dennis Hastert will not support federal
legislation to protect pot growers and smokers in states such as
California, where medical marijuana is legal, a spokesman for the
Republican leader said Thursday.

Dealing an early and likely fatal blow to the future of the legislation
inspired by the recent conviction of Oakland cannabis grower Ed Rosenthal,
Hastert spokesman John Feehery said, "I doubt very seriously that the
speaker would support that kind of provision."

The Truth in Trials Act, sponsored by Rep. Sam Farr, D-Monterey, and
supported by Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, and most other Bay Area
Democrats, would let individuals accused of violating federal marijuana
laws introduce evidence showing they possessed, cultivated or distributed
pot in accordance with state laws.

Rosenthal was convicted in February on federal marijuana charges that carry
a five-year minimum sentence. Although Rosenthal said he grew pot under
California's medical marijuana law and the protection of a city ordinance,
a judge refused to allow that information to be mentioned at trial.

Jurors learned only after they convicted Rosenthal that he had been
operating under the protection of a city ordinance. Many said they were
heartsick about the decision they made.

"We were put in the untenable situation of having to pass judgment in a
case where we were given half the evidence," said Marney Craig of Novato,
one of the jurors who traveled to Washington, D.C., on Thursday to help
introduce the legislation.

"We rendered a verdict that was wrong. We convicted a man who was not a
criminal. Jurors need to hear the whole story," she said.

Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Colorado and Maine have medical
marijuana laws similar to California's.

Only two Republican congressmen, Dana Rohrbacher of Huntington Beach and
Ron Paul of Texas, support the legislation. Democrats pushing the bill said
they plan to work on Republican lawmakers in states that have medical
marijuana laws by making a long-favored GOP argument that state decisions
should not be overruled by the federal government.

When asked if he felt this was a state's rights issue, Feehery said, "Not
necessarily." In this case, he said, the state laws are wrong. "Anti-drug
laws should be strengthened, not weakened."