FEDERAL JURY CONVICTS MEDICAL MARIJUANA ADVOCATE

Defense Could Not Bring Up Prop. 215 in 'Guru of Ganja' Trial

SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal jury on Friday found the author of
marijuana books and advice columns, Ed Rosenthal, guilty of marijuana
cultivation and conspiracy. Under mandatory sentencing laws, Rosenthal
faces a minimum of five years in prison.

Rosenthal, 58, the self-described "Guru of Ganja" who admitted to
growing the plants for distribution under California's medicinal
marijuana law, known as Proposition 215, called the verdict a
"terrible decision" and vowed to fight it. His attorneys said they
would prepare motions for a new trial immediately.

"What the federal government is trying to do is destroy Prop 215 and
eliminate medical marijuana from California," Rosenthal said.
Proposition 215 "will outlive the Bush administration, it will outlive
Ashcroft, and it will outlive all of these cruel people who want to
stop people from getting their medicine."

The state law, passed by voters as an initiative in 1996, permits the
cultivation of marijuana as medicine for seriously ill people.
Rosenthal was growing starter plants in a warehouse in Oakland, in his
capacity as an "officer of the city" under Oakland's medical marijuana
ordinance. The plants were distributed to organizations and clubs that
serve the seriously ill.

Kenneth Hayes, a Petaluma man who had been acquitted in a Sonoma
County medical marijuana case in 2001, was charged along with
Rosenthal and two other men in the case.

However, Hayes fled to Canada where he is seeking political asylum. He
faces marijuana and immigration charges in Canada but the penalties
are significantly less than the U.S. charges, which have a maximum
penalty of 20 years to life in prison.

Besides California, eight other states allow the sick and dying to
smoke or grow marijuana with a doctor's recommendation.

But the judge in the Rosenthal case, Charles R. Breyer of U.S.
District Court, did not allow Rosenthal to raise the California law as
a defense since Rosenthal was indicted under federal law.

Federal law does not permit marijuana cultivation for medicinal
purposes.

As a result, Rosenthal did not take the stand in his own defense and
his lawyers said they were unable to explain to the jury his true
motives for growing the plants.

"Ed, for doing the right thing, is paying a terrible price," said
Robert V. Eye, one of Rosenthal's lawyers, who fought back tears
during a news conference after the verdict. "Social change is never
easy."

The jury foreman, Charles Sackett, 51, a landscape contractor in
Sebastopol, said the jury was largely sympathetic to Rosenthal's
predicament. But, he said, jurors were left with "no legal wiggle
room" because of the decision to exclude any discussion of Proposition
215.

"It was one of the most difficult things we ever did as jurors,"
Sackett said of separating the state and federal aspects of the case.
"We followed the letter of the law. We followed the court's
instructions."

Sackett said he voted for Proposition 215 and that he hoped Rosenthal
would ultimately prevail in a higher court.

"I am for the use of medical marijuana, as a number of jurors were,"
he said. "But we just couldn't base our decision on that."

About two dozen protesters screamed and cried outside the courthouse
after the verdict.

The government essentially portrayed Rosenthal as a major drug
supplier. Because federal laws trump state laws, Breyer ruled that
Rosenthal could not defend himself under the banner of California's
Proposition 215. Marijuana, under federal rules, has no recognized
medical benefit.

"He was not trying to grow drugs for illicit purposes," said Nathan
Miley, a former Oakland City councilman. "I think this does a
disservice not just to Ed, but to those needing medical marijuana."

George Bevan Jr., the assistant U.S. attorney, asked that Rosenthal be
taken into custody immediately, but Breyer said he would make a
decision about custody at a hearing Tuesday.

Rosenthal has been free since his arrest last February after posting
$200,000 bond. The judge is scheduled to sentence Rosenthal in June.

Under the original indictment, Rosenthal had faced a minimum sentence
of 10 years in prison if convicted, but the jury effectively cut that
amount in half when it rejected the prosecution's contention that
Rosenthal had conspired to grow more than 1,000 plants. The jury
reduced the number to 100. Rosenthal's lawyers had argued that since
the plants he had grown were starters, not fully grown plants, that
the count involving 1,000 plants was excessive.