HARASSING LAW-ABIDING CITIZENS

Federal Case Against California Medical Marijuana Club Sends Chilling Message

The federal government's harassment of marijuana activist Ed Rosenthal
continues in a San Francisco courtroom, as prosecutors hope to lock up the
58-year-old -- who's raising pot plants for a Bay Area medicinal marijuana
clinic -- for the rest of his life.

This is a frightening example of a federal government that's hellbent on
trampling the will of the people, the compassionate treatment of patients,
and even local law enforcement agencies ... all for the purpose of
prosecuting the drug war. The lesson here should be a chilling one for
Nevadans as well as residents of the Golden State.

Mr. Rosenthal was arrested after federal agents seized some 3,000 marijuana
plants from his warehouse in Oakland, and charged him with violating
federal anti-drug laws. He was growing the plants for the Harm Reduction
Center, a local medical marijuana club, and was deputized by the city of
Oakland as an officer authorized to distribute medicinal pot under
California's 1996 Proposition 215.

His attorney planned to argue that the federal government had no
jurisdiction in this case, since it cannot regulate intrastate commerce,
and that law enforcement agents violated the Ninth and 10th Amendments,
which limit the power of the federal government to override state laws.

In a jaw-dropping move, however, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer has
ruled that the jury cannot be told any of this. In a heated exchange with
the attorney, Judge Breyer said the information was "irrelevant" for the
purposes of this prosecution, though the ruling could be challenged on appeal.

The judge's decision is not only an unconscionable denial of Mr.
Rosenthal's right to present evidence in his own defense, it's a gross
misreading of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2001 decision banning medical marijuana.

In Justice Clarence Thomas' opinion, the majority ruled that the "medical
necessity defense" used by advocates of medicinal marijuana does not
overrule federal drug laws. But, Justice Thomas wrote, a number of issues
- -- including questions about regulating intrastate commerce and the role of
states' rights -- remain to be resolved. Future courts must decide whether
the federal government indeed possesses the authority to stop the
distribution of marijuana for medicinal purposes in every instance.

Nevada officials remain optimistic that the medical marijuana initiative
approved by Silver State voters would survive a federal challenge. And
while Judge Breyer's actions can be rectified on appeal, federal agents
continue to intimidate, incarcerate and seize the property of citizens who
are acting within the laws duly enacted by the citizens of the states and
their representatives.