On the bedside table:
Ed Rosenthal: Citizen Crusader
Ed Rosenthal, 62, of Oakland Ca., is an authority on marijuana cultivation. He has written many books on the subject. His name has been known in underground circles for three decades. And yesterday, the federal government announced it will retry him a 2nd time on pot cultivation charges even though he faces no punishment if convicted.
Rosenthal's original trial was one of several federal cases against Northern California growers who cultivated marijuana for doctors and dispensaries under a 1996 California (voter approved) Prop 215 initiative that allowed individuals to purchase pot with a doctor's prescription. He was convicted in 2003 on three charges of cultivating plants for medical patients in San Francisco.
In the trial, presided over by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, Rosenthal was convicted. But then, in what must have been a stunning setback for the Prosecutor, the judge sentenced him to only one day in jail rather than the five years prescribed by federal guidelines. Judge Breyer ruled that Rosenthal believed he was acting legally because the city of Oakland had designated him as an official in its medical marijuana distribution program.
Zoom to the present... Now that conviction has been overturned on Rosenthal's appeal. So, refusing to let sleeping dogs lie, Federal Prosecutors have decided to have another go at it-- even though they have already said in a court filing that they will not seek additional imprisonment on the cultivation charges.
Why? Here's my take: by making an example of such high-profile activists as Ed Rosenthal, the Bushites hope to intimidate and defeat the medical marijuana movement. The Justice Dept. is unwilling to settle for Rosenthal's acquittal because it could weaken their hand when they go to interfere with the right of the voters of California to regulate their own health and welfare, as they have attempted to do with Prop. 215.
The question is clear - will those providing medical marijuana to patients in California, in compliance with state law, continue to be prosecuted by the federal government? In recent polls 70% of the public show support for the use of medical marijuana.
I lived and worked in and around Oakland for many years-- it's a tough town. On any day there are plenty of real criminals on the loose who shouldn't be-- I find it hard to believe that this is the best use of public judicial time and resources...
Cite:
Feds Will Retry Pot Advocate on Cultivation Charges. SF Chronicle. April 13, 2007