Court Overturns Pot Grower's Conviction

[arcos]

Court Overturns Pot Grower's Conviction

SAN FRANCISCO - A federal appeals court Wednesday overturned the pot-growing conviction of the self-proclaimed "Guru of Ganja," a marijuana advocate who has written books on how to grow pot and avoid getting caught.
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The court cited jury misconduct in overturning Ed Rosenthal's conviction, but it otherwise upheld federal powers to charge marijuana growers.

Rosenthal was convicted in 2003 for cultivating hundreds of marijuana plants for a city of Oakland medical marijuana program. U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer sentenced him to one day in prison, saying Rosenthal reasonably believed he was immune from prosecution because he was acting on behalf of city officials.

<snip>

"Juror A" had asked a friend who is an attorney whether she had to follow the law or could vote her conscience because she suspected Rosenthal was growing marijuana for medicinal uses. The attorney told her she must follow the judge's instructions to follow federal law or she would get in "trouble."

<snip>

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060426/ap_on_re_us/pot_king;_ylt=AvR4kiOUpuxDo7UvuenhWf5vzwcF;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--

[Book Lover]

1. Good news and good luck, Ed!

Hope the bugs keep outta your greenhouse...

[mainegreen]

2. Jerk Lawyer. Jury nullification is 100% constitutional.

Period.

[htuttle]

3. That's correct

You can always vote your conscience.

[Demit]

4. Yup. You can follow your conscience. Not that judges want you to know that

[hvn_nbr_2]

5. Conscience: It's not just for wingnut Christian pharmacists any more.

In fact, now that I think of it, every time they talk about freedom of conscience for pharmacists who don't want to dispense medicine, we should talk about jurors, war tax protestors, etc.

[sendero]

11. nice....

... very nice :)

[slay]

6. People facing ANY prison time over marijuana is RIDICULOUS

We have rapists and child molesters getting lighter sentences than people who grow pot!!! Sometimes I can't believe how off course this country has gone. Leave the pot smokers/growers alone already and focus on real crimes - like invading Iraq based on known lies!

[Gregorian]

7. Hallelujah?

Fuck. I've run out of words. Freedom's on the march? Shit. I give up.

I'm so fucking tired of America's stupidity.

I have followed Ed Rosenthal since the early seventies. To see this country diddling around with bullshit is beyond anything we here on DU, or the founders of this country can fathom.

Hey, at least he wasn't tossed into a dungeon for life, like it seemed when he was first arrested.

This country is in big trouble. But then, Rome burned.

[sweetheart]

8. Bom Shiva

Lord Shiva
grace the Ganga smokers
with your blessing

[DemInDistress]

9. the outrage of it all...Little kids can be prescribed "Ritalin" a powerful

upper and former heroin users can get legal "methadone" both of which are highly addictive and have horrible side effects YET, medicinal marijuana can't be grown,possessed,sold, used, or traded.
METHADONE IS AN INSIDIOUS SYNTHETIC GOVERNMENT CREATED AND SPONSORED DRUG.. Hemp is Natural,wonderful and renewable plant with at least 1,000 uses.
SHAME ON THE POLITICIANS WHO REFUSE TO "SAVE THE PLANET"
BTW, I used Hemp,weed,marijuana now 44 years and still I love it. One joint per day keeps this DUer pounding away. I'd love to see a million persons marijuana march and all at once,"LIGHT UP A JOINT"..

Anybody second that?

[clixtox]

10. Marijuana Madness

I have been a daily toker for almost 42 years, now, living in California, with my doctors enthusiastic recommendation. I rarely driink alcohol and don't use any other "drugs".

I believe in moving in a positive direction with positive people, that is truly the golden rule!

I enjoy beautiful people, great health, smiling a lot, sharing and radical politics.

Cannabis is a benign and beneficial, natural elixer.

Ed Rosenthal is truly the Guru of Ganja!

Although Ed was sentenced to "time served", which had been only one day, the conviction, and acquiring a criminal record, was surely inhibiting some of his agricultural activities.

The dark days of "pot" being the demon dope are mostly behind us now. The ignorant, and willfully ignorant, are dying daily and their progeny, you and me, know the truth. The more real research that is done, the more uses, and positive indications, are being realized about the efficacy of cannabis for many applications, medically and in many other fields.

The major crime has been keeping the substance away from the researchers for decades. It's a shameful period, history will show, eventually!

Not unlike the days of legal slavery. The victims of the state sanctioned repression, who have been jailed, are today's slaves!

[DemInDistress]

14. good post clix..your right about the conviction,police record

and possible inhibitions to maybe want to grow again. Its a sad commentary by our govt leaders who suppress the truth behind hemp, facts are facts you an I are living proof "pot" is not the "evil" they portray it as.
Not just the products hemp would create but medicinal aspects as well,plus legal "pot" would be the gravy for all Americans. High Times magazine estimates as many as 30 million people "toke up". Hemp crosses all ethnic lines,men and women,white and black and yellow.All religions,all professions,HEMP IS A WONDER PLANT.
Back in the 60's when I was a teenager,weed was everywhere. Government could only say," but its illegal to possess" today the skeptics connect weed to sickness,addiction, and death.
Ignorant people don' realize George Washington and many other founding fathers smoked and grew hemp.


thanks for your feedback.

[bleedingheart]

16. don't forget that cigarettes that are legal have killed thousands

and that many households have been ruined by legal alcohol consumption..

[Sgent]

12. I gotta say

that I can't understand *why* he appealed unless he just likes the federal pen.

Sorry, but the risk/reward issue here is enormous. Give up 1 day in prison for possibly 30 years? No thanks.

[Nevernose]

13. Fighting for principle?

But I still hear ya. I don't know if he's got more balls than I do, or just more balls than brains.

[clixtox]

15. Brains? Balls? Ed Has Plenty Of Both...

There is no way that Ed could ever be convicted again in front of Northern California jury. I really doubt that the feds are even going to re-try him. They like to maintain their almost 100% conviction rate and the first outcome was embarrassing enough for the feds, even with the deck stacked and the jury bamboozeled. The next jury will know exactly what to do, the trial did spread the knowledge of "Jury Nullification" to a lot of people who didn't know about this before.

The federal prosecutors enviable success record is wholly the result of making plea bargains with resourceless defendants facing draconian minimum sentences who take a "deal". Usually the deal requires the "victim/defendant" to "roll" on others making real "police work" a rare occurrence.

Most federal prosecutors couldn't and can not have successes when they have to face defendents able to afford first class defense attorneys. If they were actually competent they would have gone over to the other side to make some real money and to stop having to hang around with a bunch of narco pigs and other total asshole colleagues.