'GURU OF GANJA' FOUND GUILTY OF MARIJUANA CULTIVATION

SAN FRANCISCO An author of how-to books on growing marijuana and
avoiding the law was convicted Friday of marijuana cultivation and
conspiracy charges.

The jury concluded that Ed Rosenthal, the self-described "Guru of
Ganja," was growing more than 1,000 plants, conspiring to cultivate
marijuana and maintaining a warehouse for a growing operation. He
faces a maximum life term when sentenced June 4.

Several people in the courtroom, including Rosenthal's wife and
daughter, wept as the verdicts were read by a court clerk.

The verdicts were a victory in the federal government's battle against
California's 1996 voter-approved medical marijuana law. Rosenthal's
arrest last year was among a string of Drug Enforcement Administration
raids on medical marijuana suppliers in California.

Under strict orders from U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, Rosenthal
was never able to tell the jury that he was growing marijuana as "an
officer" for the city of Oakland's medical marijuana program.

Oakland's program and others throughout California were authorized
under Proposition 215. Eight other states also allow the sick and
dying to smoke or grow marijuana with a doctor's recommendation.

But federal authorities do not recognize those laws.

"There is no such thing as medical marijuana," said Richard Meyer, a
DEA spokesman. "We're Americans first, Californians second."

Jury foreman Charles Sackett III said outside court that jurors were
following federal law in finding Rosenthal guilty, but he personally
hoped the verdict would be overturned.

"We had no legal wiggle room," Sackett said.

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 color of California's
Proposition 215. Marijuana, under federal rules, has no recognized
medical benefit.

Rosenthal said he's anything but a drug dealer, noting that the plants
agents seized didn't have buds, the part of the plant normally smoked
for a high. He planned to give out cuttings to seriously ill people.

A founder of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana
Laws, Rosenthal used to write the "Ask Ed" column for High Times
magazine, and has researched and written nearly 20 books on marijuana.

Millions of copies have been sold, mostly in the United States, with titles
such as The Growers Handbook, The Big Book of Buds, and Ask Ed: Marijuana
Law. Don't Get Busted.