cannabisnews.com: Marijuana Advocate Faces New U.S. Indictment Marijuana Advocate Faces New U.S. Indictment Posted by CN Staff on October 14, 2006 at 06:37:52 PT By Carolyn Marshall Source: New York Times San Francisco -- A leading medical marijuana advocate who successfully appealed his federal conviction this year has been indicted on new criminal charges that include tax evasion and money laundering. The man, Ed Rosenthal, a well-known spokesman for the movement to legalize marijuana, was already facing a retrial on federal charges of growing marijuana for medical use. He is to be arraigned Monday in Federal District Court here on the new indictment, unsealed late Thursday. It accuses Mr. Rosenthal, 61, of 14 felony charges that include cultivating marijuana plants; laundering $1,850, which the government says he got from selling the plants to medical dispensaries; and tax evasion. His tax returns, prosecutors said, omitted income from the sale of the plants. Reached Friday at his home in Oakland, Mr. Rosenthal said he thought the efforts to prosecute him were part of a campaign to shutter medical marijuana sites in California and to subvert the state law allowing them.“They want to shut me up,” he said. “They are vindictive. They don’t like anybody beating them, and they will go after you again and again until they wear you down.”The state and the federal government have been locked in a legal and cultural battle over the medicinal merits of marijuana since 1996, when California voters approved a ballot measure giving seriously ill patients the right to buy and use the drug with a doctor’s prescription.The Drug Enforcement Agency has been aggressive in investigating medical marijuana facilities. Last week, the authorities raided and closed five Bay Area sites, arresting 15 people.A spokesman for the United States attorney’s office, Luke Macaulay, would not comment on the new indictment, but said, “Drugs are a priority for the Justice Department, being that marijuana is illegal under federal law.”The new charges against Mr. Rosenthal are similar to those in a 2002 federal indictment. At the time, Mr. Rosenthal worked for the City of Oakland and was sanctioned under city and state laws to grow marijuana plants and sell them to dispensaries. He was convicted by a jury, but a federal appeals court overturned the decision, citing juror misconduct. He was granted a new trial, and prosecutors were moving forward, but the new federal indictment supersedes the earlier one. Complete Title: Medical Marijuana Advocate Faces New U.S. Indictment Source: New York Times (NY)Author: Carolyn MarshallPublished: October 14, 2006Copyright: 2006 The New York Times CompanyContact: letters nytimes.comWebsite: http://www.nytimes.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Ed Rosenthal's Pictures & Articles http://freedomtoexhale.com/trialpics.htmFed Jury Slaps Guru of Ganja With New Chargeshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22274.shtml`Ganja Guru' Wants Grand Jury Infohttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22157.shtmlFeds Take Aim at `Ganja Guru' Againhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22120.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #23 posted by whig on October 18, 2006 at 12:39:29 PT doc james Hello, and welcome to Cannabis News if you are new here. I haven't seen your name before, I don't think. [ Post Comment ] Comment #22 posted by doc james on October 18, 2006 at 07:04:47 PT: Ed & the feds This is totally absurd......1850.00 and they think the $ is from selling high dollar medicine to dispensaries, the basta-- government. Makes me sick to my stomach, surely they've better things to do. [ Post Comment ] Comment #21 posted by Hope on October 16, 2006 at 14:42:10 PT Lol. "Should we drop this here".... Probably.:0)I'm not afraid of Ed. I've admired him for many, many years. He's a beautiful and a powerful man and his battle is definitely not just for himself but all of us. No doubt. [ Post Comment ] Comment #20 posted by whig on October 16, 2006 at 13:45:19 PT Bug I kind of see a butterfly, can you see it that way? Should we drop this here? [ Post Comment ] Comment #19 posted by whig on October 16, 2006 at 13:42:14 PT Hope You shouldn't be afraid of Ed, I think. Or the fractal that I think looks like him. But he's that powerful, I think. He's just good, so that's kind of how I see it.Yeah, this might sound like so much nonsense to you, oh well. It's just how I'm perceiving things. [ Post Comment ] Comment #18 posted by Hope on October 16, 2006 at 13:25:49 PT Sorry, Whig... I can see the outward extensions as being comparable to the way Ed is standing and the ways his arms are outstretched. But the fractal still looks like a giant bug of some sort to me.Maybe it's the fact that I'm a woman and don't like bugs and I see something like a bug shell or crustacean shell. But I think I may see sort of how you see it...it's still too buglike for me to see clearly what you are talking about...but I don't doubt that you see it differently, and reasonably so.The fractal kind of gives me a nighmarish type chill. [ Post Comment ] Comment #17 posted by whig on October 16, 2006 at 12:47:22 PT Hope Yes, Ed and also Richard Watts. Kenneth Hayes was not present today.Here's a clipped version of the fractal, showing just Ed as the angel with the spread wings, like he is in the photo above on cannablog.http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/5216/f791lh3yi4.jpgLet me know if you can see it. If not, oh well. [ Post Comment ] Comment #16 posted by Hope on October 16, 2006 at 12:36:08 PT The arraignment... Ed's, I'm assuming you mean. I hope he had a lot of support there. Thank you for attending. [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by whig on October 16, 2006 at 12:32:31 PT Hope I just returned from the arraignment hearing, I'll try to post an update soon. [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by Hope on October 16, 2006 at 11:46:34 PT What we see... Whig, that's wonderful, what you saw.I saw what looked like a giant living spaceship like you'd see in Sci-Fi.I did keep looking for a little image of Ed in there, perhaps peeping from a porthole or something, for a while, though.Finally...I just didn't get it.Thanks for the explanation. [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by whig on October 15, 2006 at 14:29:47 PT Hope Fractals are kind of like Rorshach tests, I guess. You either see something there or you don't, or you see something completely different than someone else.I see an angel with spread wings trailing his robe and striding the carpet as he enters the theater. [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by Hope on October 15, 2006 at 14:02:07 PT Whig... I don't get it...as I said over at CannaBlog. [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by whig on October 15, 2006 at 13:53:18 PT Hope Another picture of Ed.http://tinyurl.com/yha6n7 [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by Hope on October 15, 2006 at 13:41:22 PT Great picture of Ed with this article at MSNBC.http://msnbc.msn.com/id/15259010/ [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by user123 on October 15, 2006 at 12:54:30 PT: Paycheck A spokesman for the United States attorney’s office, Luke Macaulay, would not comment on the new indictment, but said, “Drugs are a priority for the Justice Department, being that marijuana is illegal under federal law.”Drug are a priority because we can't think for ourselves, and see the light, since seeing the truth would threaten our paychecks. If you're going to prosecute over $1,850, might as well indict every waiter & waitress in this country! [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by whig on October 14, 2006 at 15:42:21 PT gw Here's a song.http://cannablog.wordpress.com/2006/10/14/mr-soul-steps-in/ [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by whig on October 14, 2006 at 15:12:35 PT gw Yes, we are. Time for singing, too. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by global_warming on October 14, 2006 at 14:39:21 PT Read It And Weep Here we are the flesh and reality. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by whig on October 14, 2006 at 13:27:30 PT Money laundering? One thousand, eight hundred fifty dollars and no sense.Are you kidding me? [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by FoM on October 14, 2006 at 10:16:36 PT Mayan I am holding my breath about Ohio. It has been 16 years I read since we had a Democrat as Governor and it looks at least like Strickland will beat Blackwell. I don't think I could handle Blackwell as Governor. I don't know if Strickland will be a good Governor but I have no doubt that Blackwell would be terrible for Ohio. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Storm Crow on October 14, 2006 at 09:51:51 PT Mayan You insult the neanderthals! They had a culture. Homo erectus, maybe? LOL [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by global_warming on October 14, 2006 at 09:23:15 PT re: laundering $1,850 Someone should keep tabs on what the government lawyers are going to spend of our tax dollars to prosecute this man. What does a lawyer get per hour now a days? What a disgraceful waste of tax payers dollars. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by mayan on October 14, 2006 at 07:56:34 PT Out To Get Him “They want to shut me up,” he said. “They are vindictive. They don’t like anybody beating them, and they will go after you again and again until they wear you down.”Talk about sour grapes! The feds will make Ed a martyr at best and totally expose their true motives for going after the cannabis culture at worst. Their heavy-handed,neanderthal tactics will be on display for the world to see. We are with you, Ed!Fom, your state is swinging back...A red state goes code blue for GOP: http://tinyurl.com/y6w2ymTHE WAY OUT IS THE WAY IN...O'Reilly Sets Up Truthseekers To Be Disappeared: http://rense.com/general73/truthseek.htm9/11 conspiracy theorist raises funds for university: http://www.cnn.com/2006/EDUCATION/10/13/wisconsin.instructor.ap/index.htmlImprobable Collapse : The Demolition of our Republic (video): http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4026073566596731782Bushwhacked: World Can't Wait Rallies to Overthrow Bush: http://tinyurl.com/yataa4 [ Post Comment ] Post Comment