Ed Rosenthal

[Key West]

Ed Rosenthal

1 day - Felony charges of marijuana cultivation and conspiracy.<!--StartFragment -->

San Francisco -- A convicted marijuana grower was sentenced to one day in prison and fined $1,000 by a federal judge today, the most lenient sentence allowed under law.
The defendant, Ed Rosenthal, had faced a possible sentence of 100 years in prison and a potential fine of $4.5 million for his conviction in January on felony charges of marijuana cultivation and conspiracy.

"We are all delighted with what we view as as fair and just a sentence that could be imposed under the circumstances of Ed having suffered a conviction," one of Mr. Rosenthal's lawyers, Dennis P. Riordan, said.

Federal authorities arrested Mr. Rosenthal last year for growing marijuana to be sold for medicinal uses under the auspices of the City of Oakland's medicinal marijuana ordinance.

Though the Oakland ordinance is permitted under a 1996 California state proposition, there is no provision for growing marijuana under federal drug laws.

The judge, Charles R. Breyer of Federal District Court, had not allowed Mr. Rosenthal to raise medicinal marijuana as a defense, leading some jurors to later complain that they had been misled by the court. After convicting Mr. Rosenthal, several jurors requested a new trial, and when that failed, wrote to Judge Breyer urging leniency.

At a hearing today, Judge Breyer said it was reasonable to conclude that Mr. Rosenthal had believed he was acting legally. By making that determination, the judge was able to skirt some minimum sentence requirements, which could have put Mr. Rosenthal in prison for at least five years, his lawyers said.

In addition to the fine and day in jail, Judge Breyer sentenced Mr. Rosenthal to three years of court supervision.

"Today has just put my faith back into this judicial system again," said Pamela Klarkowski, one of the jurors who had written to the judge. "It's just wonderful to see mercy involved in our judicial system."

Mr. Rosenthal left the courtroom a free man, as Judge Breyer awarded him credit for a day spent in jail.

But Mr. Rosenthal, 58, the author of a dozen cannabis self-help books, declared that Judge Breyer "did me no favors" and "made me a felon" as part of a "corrupted system." He called on the judge to resign for not having allowed the medicinal marijuana defense, and he vowed to fight to overturn laws banning marijuana.

"This is Day 1 in the crusade to bring down the marijuana laws," Mr. Rosenthal said at a news conference held on a parking lot rented by his supporters. "The federal government makes no distinction between medical and recreational marijuana. They're right. All marijuana should be legal."

Mr. Riordan and another of Mr. Rosenthal's lawyers, Robert V. Eye, said they disagreed with Mr. Rosenthal's characterization of Judge Breyer. Mr. Eye said the judge's handling of the sentence was a reminder that "justice can be done." Nonetheless, the two lawyers said, the case would be appealed in an effort to clear Mr. Rosenthal's name.

Though there was general consensus that the sentencing today did not amount to a legal breakthrough for advocates of medical marijuana, some predicted it would embolden the movement to challenge federal drug laws. Nine states, including California, allow the sick and dying to smoke or grow marijuana with a doctor's recommendation.

"I think 20 years from now, when historians look back at how the federal war on medical marijuana ended, this will be the hinge point," said Bruce Mirken of the Marijuana Policy Project, an advocacy group in Washington.

But Richard Meyer, a spokesman for the federal Drug Enforcement Administration in San Francisco, said the sentencing would have no effect on the agency's work.

"We are not listening to them," Mr. Meyer said of the marijuana advocates. "We will continue to protect the public from the dangers of all illegal drugs."

Source: New York Times (NY)
Author: Dean E. Murphy
Published: Thursday, June 5, 2003
Copyright: 2003 The New York Times Company
Contact: letters@nytimes.com
Website: www.nytimes.com

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