The Compassionate Coalition

Newshawk: The Leading Source for Marijuana News www.mapinc.org
Pubdate: Thu, 31 May 2007
Source: New York Times (NY)
Copyright: 2007 The New York Times Company
Contact: letters@nytimes.com
Website: http://www.nytimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298
Author: The Associated Press
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Ed+Rosenthal (Ed Rosenthal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Marijuana - Medicinal)

CONVICTED AGAIN FOR DRUG OFFENSE

A marijuana advocate was convicted again in federal court of illegally growing hundreds of marijuana plants that he said were meant to treat sick people, which state law allows. The man, Ed Rosenthal, was convicted after Judge Charles R. Breyer of Federal District Court in San Francisco, prohibited Mr. Rosenthal's lawyers from telling the jury that he was working for a marijuana club sanctioned by Oakland officials. Mr. Rosenthal, 63, will not serve time. He was convicted of the same charges in 2003 and sentenced to a day in prison because the judge said Mr. Rosenthal had reasonably believed he was immune from prosecution because he was acting on behalf of city officials. An appeals court threw out that conviction. The judge has said he will not sentence Mr. Rosenthal to more time.