OAKLAND'S JEWISH 'GANJA GURU' VOWS TO FIGHT CONVICTION

Ed Rosenthal has long been a well-known name among devotees of hydroponics
and/or Bob Marley. Now, his name might become well known among legal
scholars as well.

The self-acclaimed Jewish "guru of ganja" was convicted Jan. 31 of felony
conspiracy and cultivation charges stemming from a raid on his Oakland
marijuana greenhouse, a significant victory for the federal government over
states with medical marijuana programs.

Rosenthal was a deputized officer in the city of Oakland's medical
marijuana program, authorized to grow and distribute marijuana to those
with a prescription.

Yet, in a controversial move, U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer in
San Francisco did not allow any mention of Rosenthal's official position,
as the federal government does not recognize the existence of "medical"
marijuana. Challenging the verdict at a press conference held Tuesday, four
of the 12 jurors called for a new trial, objecting to the fact that they
had not been told that Rosenthal had been deputized to grow marijuana for
medical patients.

Rosenthal faces a possible lifetime in prison and millions of dollars in
fines at his June 4 sentencing, but he said he doesn't regret growing and
distributing hundreds if not thousands of marijuana plants to the sick. To
not do so, he added, would have violated his Jewish ethics.

"You know, the situation I'm in is very similar to the situation that
people have had to face throughout Jewish history. If you have a special
means of helping somebody and don't help them, you are guilty of a sin, a
sin of omission," said Rosenthal, perhaps the world's foremost expert on
marijuana cultivation and the author of half a dozen books on marijuana and
how to home-grow it.

"When I was asked by the city of Oakland to become an officer to the city,
I felt it was my duty, not just a civil duty but a biblical duty. Not doing
it would have been a sin of omission. I don't have any regret about doing
it. I know I made many people's lives better, helped people live longer
lives and be more comfortable. I'm gratified with myself. I don't think
I've done anything wrong."

Breyer, the brother of Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, ruled Tuesday
that the 58-year-old Oakland resident could remain free on $200,000 bond
until his sentencing hearing. The prosecution had requested Rosenthal be
incarcerated until then.

With Rosenthal's deputization by the city of Oakland kept off the record,
he was, in the eyes of the court, no different from any large-scale
marijuana grower and dealer, an extremely frustrating point for the
activist and his lawyers.

Rosenthal, for example, was unable to inform the jury that he had been
assured by Oakland's city attorney that he was legally immune.

"Eventually this elephant in the living room that is medical marijuana is
going to have to get recognized for what it is, a movement that has
broad-based public support, and not only in California," said Bob Eye, one
of Rosenthal's lawyers.

"At the same time, this does raise some difficult and challenging
constitutional questions. How can you reconcile competing federal and state
governments?"

Rosenthal and his lawyers believe Breyer's approach to the above query was
exceedingly heavy-handed, and they are seeking a new trial based on
"judicial error." If that is denied, Eye said he will take the case to the
9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Women of Reform Judaism passed a plank in 1999 supporting the use of
medical marijuana. Jane Marcus, the social action chair of Congregation
Beth Am Sisterhood in Los Altos Hills, said her group plans to distribute
pro-Rosenthal fliers and buttons at this weekend's Reform movement biennial
in Santa Clara.

"What we need to do is get a political debate going in this country on how
this law can be changed," she said.

"I think the Jewish community is a good place to start because Ed is one of
our own and, in our moral code, helping the sick is what you do."

Rosenthal and his wife are members of Oakland's Reform Temple Sinai.

In 1996, the East Bay Council of Rabbis unanimously supported a petition
Rosenthal presented them in favor of Proposition 215, which enabled the
cultivation of medical marijuana.

Rabbi Harry Manhoff, the council's current president, said he believes the
government's treatment of Rosenthal is draconian.

"In terms of Mr. Rosenthal, I don't know him personally and I don't know
what his motivations are," said Manhoff, the rabbi at San Leandro's
Conservative Temple Beth Sholom.

"But having had to deal with people I know who, in many different
circumstances, have benefited from medical marijuana, I find it very harsh
that the federal government would spend money prosecuting and persecuting
people in this way."