Buzzby

'Guru of Ganja' Loses Bid For Rehearing
Federal appeals court upholds convictions of growing marijuana
Josh Richman | Inside Bay Area | 07/20/2006

A federal appeals court Wednesday declined to reconsider its April decision to overturn the felony convictions of Oakland's "Guru of Ganja," Ed Rosenthal.

A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had found juror misconduct — a juror's conversation with an attorney-friend during deliberations — compromised Rosenthal's right to a fair verdict, and so warrants a new trial for the renowned marijuana activist and author. However, the panel had rejected Rosenthal's claim of immunity from prosecution as an officer of Oakland who grew the drug under the city's medical marijuana ordinance.

The panel Wednesday refused Rosenthal's requests for rehearing, or for an "en banc" rehearing by a larger panel. His lawyers later Wednesday said they're not yet sure if they'll consider an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, or just return to the district court should prosecutors choose to retry him. Federal prosecutors declined to comment.

The panel did tweak its April opinion somewhat, including deletion of a paragraph in which it had found Rosenthal was not a duly authorized city officer because the city's designation conflicted with state law. But other language that knocked down Rosenthal's immunity claim still remain.

Famed for his marijuana cultivation books and the "Ask Ed" column he used to write for High Times magazine, Rosenthal, now 61, was convicted of three marijuana-growing felonies in 2003, more than a year after federal agents raided sites including his Oakland home, an Oakland warehouse in which he was growing marijuana and a San Francisco medical marijuana club he supplied.

Medical use of marijuana on a doctor's recommendation is legal under state law, but federal law still prohibits it. Rosenthal was barred from mounting a medical defense at trial.

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Hansje

The Feds are getting uppity again, going after the mainly non-violent marijuana users, and of course the easiest targets of all, the marijuana patients and their providers, WHEN THEY SHOULD BE LOOKING FOR FREAKIN' TERRORISTS AND I MEAN REAL TERRORISTS AND NOT MARIJUANA USERS THEY WANT TO REDEFINE AS TERRORISTS. FREAKIN' TWISTED FEDERAL LOGIC!

AMMA TELL YOU WHAT,THERE BETTER NOT BE A NEXT TIME FOR A TERRORIST ATTACK IN THE U.S. ELSE PEOPLE ROUND HERE GONNA GET REAL WHIPPED UP 'BOUT ENFORCIN' THE LAWS AGAINST MARIJUANA WHILE NEGLECTIN' TO CATCH CRAZY FOOLS WHO WANT TO BLOW UP FASHIZZLE!

Buzzby

Please don't post in all caps. It's very hard to read. If you want to emphasize something, bold it or put it in italics.

Jerry99

The federal government is already wasting billions of our taxpayers’ dollars on the war in Iraq! Now they’re proposing to waste more money to retry a man, whose only crime--if any—is to supply some suffering and terminally ill patients with medical marijuana.

Hey, where’s tough guy Arnie, when we need him? The laws of his state are being challenged daily by the DEA and the evil forces of drug repression, yet he remains silent. What are you, Arnie, a girlie man? Stand up for the laws of California and challenge the federal bastards to get their butts out of your state, if you so dare!

Rosenthal has obviously acted according to his conscience. Medical pot is a necessity for thousands of people in pain. When will the government get this through their thick heads? Those DEA guys are so uptight that they need an enema to pass gas!

I grow my own medpot and I’m proud of it! By happy coincidence I live in a state where this is legal. But I don’t want feds busting down my door! Hey, I got kids, man. Just cause I have cancer, doesn’t mean I’m dead yet. But it does mean that I need a good painkiller, and the chemicals I can legally buy don’t work for any length of time. Not to mention, they’re addictive! I never heard of anyone being addicted to pot!

Anyway, we all know about hydroponics, right? You need a good grow light and a couple of fans, and you’re in business. Make sure to cover the windows, so no light gets in. Those plants need 12 hours of complete darkness to flower. Otherwise, you’ve wasted all that money!

Oh, yeah, don’t use Mylar. I tried it, man, and it’s the pits. Better to paint the walls white or cover them with white plastic. You know, Home Hardware sells the stuff, the plastic that’s white on one side, black on the other. That will make sure that no daylight gets in. The white side is gonna reflect the HPS light back at the plants.

I forgot to mention Advanced Nutrients Medical. Couldn’t find a nicer bunch of guys anywhere. They give advice by e-mail, or over the phone. They make incredible products! Like 100% organic nutrients. Yeah, that includes both macro and micro nutrients. Don’t ask me why, but both are necessary. Otherwise you’re wasting your money.

Ask for Piranha, too, man. It’ll give you strong roots. It also helps the roots to suck up the nutrients properly. It’s got fungus in it, or is that fungi. Fungi is a funny word, ain’t it? I used to pronounce it fun-guy, get it Fun Guy?

Enough of this chatter. Grow your own. Don’t be a pussy! Pot seeds were meant to be grown. And pot is good medicine. Don’t let the feds fool ya. They’re just lookin’ out for the big drug companies. If more folks realized that pot can take away their pain, they would stop buying all the crap in the drug stores.

That’s why the Man doesn’t want you to know about medpot. His drug shares would become worthless!

Buzzby

How is the governor of a state supposed to challenge the decisions of the United States Supreme Court? The Gonzales v. Raich decision (06/06/2005) clearly states that the DEA can enforce federal marijuana laws even if the marijuana is legal under state law. Short of California seceding from the United States he really doesn't have any options, and we all know how well that works.

He's not really the Terminator.