STATE POLS CONFRONT FEDS ON POT

California's state and federal leaders are taking steps to make sure that
what happened to marijuana activist Ed Rosenthal never happens to anyone else.

"We have casualties in the war the federal government is waging on the
people," said Assemblyman Mark Leno on Thursday, gesturing toward
Rosenthal, who was sitting beside him.

Rosenthal recently was convicted of growing marijuana and denied the right
to argue that he did so for medical purposes. He faces a minimum of 10
years in jail.

Leno, D-San Francisco, and Rosenthal appeared outside the federal
courthouse to read a letter urging California's congressional members to
back three recently introduced bills: one that would allow defendants to
use medical marijuana as a defense in federal cases; one that would protect
from federal law medical marijuana growers in states where it is legal; and
one that would cut federal money allocated for the enforcement of marijuana
laws in states that have legalized its medical use.

The letter asks "our colleagues in Congress to bring federal law in line
with the will of the vast majority of California and American voters."

"(These bills) would prevent what happened to Ed Rosenthal from happening
to anyone else," Leno said.

Advocates of the bills are hoping that the recent uproar over the Rosenthal
case will inspire politicians in Washington to tackle the issue.

Rosenthal, who was deputized to grow medical pot by the city of Oakland,
received national attention when a majority of the jurors who convicted him
criticized the trial and their own decision.

Six of the jurors -- who objected to the fact that they were not allowed to
consider state medical marijuana laws in reaching their verdict -- will be
featured tonight on "Dateline NBC."

The bills have the support of Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of
Huntington Beach, who called it "a legal matter as well as humanitarian
matter." He said he didn't know how many Republicans, generally sympathetic
to states rights issues but unreceptive to medical marijuana, would support
the bill.

"I think it comes down to democracy, as well," Rohrabacher told The
Examiner. "If the majority of people vote that something is going to be
illegal or legal, that's the way it should be. We don't need some
bureaucrat or puritanical elite throwing people in jail for something
that's been voted into law."

Rosenthal said Thursday marked the first time the state Assembly has
stepped up and asked the federal government to stop meddling in the
implementation of the state's medical marijuana law.

"Unfortunately, it took my case to get to this point," said Rosenthal.

Juror Eve Tulley-Dobkin urged residents to call their congressional
representatives.

"The depth of sadness of over half the jury felt is beyond words," she said.