cannabisnews.com: Judge Nixes New Medical Pot Trial Judge Nixes New Medical Pot Trial Posted by CN Staff on May 17, 2003 at 07:56:33 PT By Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer Source: San Francisco Chronicle A federal judge denied a new trial Friday to medical marijuana advocate Ed Rosenthal, ruling that he had no right to tell jurors the city of Oakland had authorized him to grow pot for seriously ill patients. Rosenthal, 58, of Oakland, a national authority on marijuana growing and author of a recent book advocating legalization of the drug, was convicted Jan. 31 by a federal court jury in San Francisco of federal cultivation charges. He is scheduled to be sentenced June 4 and faces at least five years in prison. At least half the jurors have since renounced their verdict and said they would not have convicted Rosenthal if they had known that the hundreds of plants he grew were solely for medical patients in San Francisco, and that Oakland had deputized him as an official supplier of a city-approved pot dispensary. They were barred from hearing that evidence by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, who said Rosenthal's motives were irrelevant under federal drug law. Breyer also excluded evidence about Proposition 215, the 1996 California initiative that legalized medical marijuana for patients with a doctor's recommendation to use it. Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA)Author: Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff WriterPublished: Saturday, May 17, 2003 Copyright: 2003 San Francisco Chronicle - Page A - 13 Contact: letters sfchronicle.comWebsite: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/ Snipped: Complete Article: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/05/17/BA29569.DTLRelated Articles & Web Sites:Green Aidhttp://www.green-aid.com/Americans For Safe Accesshttp://www.safeaccessnow.org/Ed Rosenthal's Trial Pictures & Articleshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/trialpics.htmFederal Judge Denies Convicted Pot Guru New Trial http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16316.shtml Rosenthal Faces Music in Key Marijuana Casehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16248.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #10 posted by Virgil on May 23, 2003 at 07:54:07 PT Comment1- Molly Ivans transcript The NOW transcripts are up and can be found in the second segment at http://www.pbs.org/now/transcript/transcript220_full.html Here are the choice words that are most relevant to the present meltdown,IVINS: And good politicians compromise. And they work together to get things done. They try to move the ball. And it really doesn't matter much whether you're on the right or on the left. Real politicians, you know, Republicans, Democrats, they work together all the time, then go out and have a beer together. That's been the way it's been done. But now what we're getting is people elected to public office who have no sense of compromise. Who are so possessed by their certitude, and their sense of self-righteousness, as though they were on a mission from God. And much of it is related to religion. That they feel entitled to run over other people. They feel that they have absolutely entitled to impose their views on other people, not only without compromise, without discussion, Bill. [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by FoM on May 18, 2003 at 10:32:27 PT freedom fighter I'm glad you made it thru! [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by freedom fighter on May 18, 2003 at 10:22:31 PT John thanks and for those who might not know what had happened, I was arrested and charged for growing one plant. The thing about this whole affair that really piss me off is that the "law" tried to turn my 16 yr old boy at that time into a snitch. Someone here said not to dance with the devil, so I said no. Had to go through alot of bullshit. Thousands of dollars stolen as well as the taxpayers footing the bill of this so called "treatment". I made it out because of the people here.Thanks people..pazff [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by John Tyler on May 17, 2003 at 22:08:26 PT freedom fighter I didn't know of your situation. I wish you and your family well. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by freedom fighter on May 17, 2003 at 18:17:55 PT Thanks Lehder Yes, I am finally free from the system. I considered myself and my family very lucky. If it was not for the fellow posters here, people I have never met, giving me sound advices how to deal with this bullshit, I would not be in such a better position I am in today. So, it is in my very bottom of my heart that I give thanks to the Cnews and the family. Thank you for really hearing my cries back then. I am much stronger now. Thanks for the comments. I do hope one day we all can get together and sit down toking a joint without fear.Much love and wishes to you and your family..pazff [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by Lehder on May 17, 2003 at 15:52:35 PT freedom fighter If my calendar is right, I believe that you yourself are now free after a long ordeal, approaching two years now, I think. You mentioned recently that you had 3 weeks to go. I was here when you first reported the absurd attack on you and your family, and I remember thinking how bleak it must all have been for you. Anyway, my hat is off to you for persevering at cnews all the while and I'm glad you're all through, if in fact you are now. You are a kind and friendly person, a poet, a "concerned citizen" in the good sense, and I hope that all of us together will put an end to the persecution of good people like you. Best wishes to you and your family. PAZ [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by freedom fighter on May 17, 2003 at 13:21:33 PT Duty to break UNJUst law! "Breyer also said he did not violate Rosenthal's rights by telling jurors, in response to final arguments by a defense lawyer, that "you cannot substitute your sense of justice, whatever that means, for your duty to follow the law." Although jurors have the power to acquit a defendant despite the law -- a centuries-old practice known as jury nullification -- a trial judge has no duty to advise them of that right and instead must try to prevent it by ordering them to follow the law, Breyer said. "This statement is from this article. Is Mr. Bryer(I refuse to call him a judge) right about trying to prevent jury nullification by ordering the jurors to follow the "law"?Whose's sense of justice then would a juror in his/her own right to decide the fate of a human being who grows weed?So run Ed! pazff [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by i420 on May 17, 2003 at 12:09:01 PT .... This is a prime example of our corrupt justice system....heil hitler....whats next????? [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Virgil on May 17, 2003 at 09:01:07 PT Where does all the hate come from? I can not imagine that there will not be a movie of the Ed Rosenthal Story. It is another inverted tale of a man that worked to do good work for his community and country received no accomadation or award but the extreme of punishments, prison. Well, June 2 is the day the Michael Powell gives the media powerhouses the right to push everyone else from the table and June 4 will be the day the judge has to utter the words that send a hero to prison. In days to come when the SOL can no longer be defended to the power brokers, people in California may well get penalties of public service at a compassion club.The lies are falling. The lies are falling. The government has no credibity left. Honesty is not only not the best policy, it is no policy at all.The NOW program with Bill Moyers had Molly Ivans from Texas on this weekend. Bill Moyers is also from Texas. She said some things I should copy from the VCR tape. The main thing she said that would apply here is about the Republic takeover of Texas politics which is not the same political party that daddy Bush came from. It is now a party of the religious right who have no concept of the dominate principle of politics which is compromise. Her words were well chosen on the reason for this lack of compromise and I will try to quote her later in this thread. The other segments on the show were about the Republican insistance on overturning Roe v Wade by building a body of law that recognizes the fetus as a person, the word used in the 14th Amendment. There was also another segment interviewing an author about her book that grew from discovery of the Gospel of Thomas and was introduced by what is not in the Bible such as the few quotes that comprise the Gospel of Thomas. It is on the Internet and can be found with a Google search.After I answer my caffiene call, I will put up Molly Ivans statements. If I were composing instead of commenting on the fly it would be included now. The one thing I want to say about Ed Rosenthal however is that his life has been defined by cannabis. His identity to himself and enough others to call him famous came from cannabis. At 58 he has outlived most people that ever walked on the earth so he has already had more than most. It will be the sentence in a few weeks that shows the world how cruel the federal government is to people working for a better world against a corrupt system designed to benefit the concentrations of wealth. When Colin Davies was sentenced, my comment on the DE messageboard was that the common man is only cannon fodder in a rich man's war and Colin was our cannon fodder. I would think the same thing true here. The longer the sentence, the more expense to an overburdened and overtaxed system. I am much more interested in the fine than the sentence. It will not be long and we will see.The caffiene is speaking to me. Time to answer the call. Does caffiene have medical value? [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by greenfox on May 17, 2003 at 08:13:41 PT Translation: drug war is corrupt Well it seems now that they need to railroad this guy to prison. Funny how it doesn't matter to the feds, despite the fact that there are plenty of good reasons for this man to NOT go to prison. But they don't care. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment