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Ed Rosenthal Convicted of Following State Law, Helping Sick People

After five years and enough drama and incompetence to appall even seasoned drug war observers like us, the ridiculous show trial of Ed Rosenthal is finally over.
SAN FRANCISCO -- The self-proclaimed "guru of ganja" was convicted again Wednesday in federal court of illegally growing hundreds of marijuana plants that he said were meant to treat sick people, which state law allows.

Ed Rosenthal was convicted after U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer prohibited the marijuana activist's lawyers from telling the jury he was working for a pot club sanctioned by Oakland government officials. [Star-Telegram]
Rosenthal will now serve one day in jail (time served), for the crime of helping the City of Oakland provide legal medicine to registered patients. Forgive me, but I've already said everything there is to say about this:
That's right, American taxpayers. Behold the glorious retribution of the principled and incorruptible federal prosecutors who've exhausted untold sums and incalculable man-hours to protect you from a safe and effective medicine. Amidst Iraq, Katrina, Medicare, etc. the federal government was trying to save you from Ed Rosenthal by putting him in jail for one goddamn day. And they're still working on it, knowing as they have all along, that this is the best they can hope for.
Today, a new group of jurors is learning that the federal government tricked them into convicting Ed Rosenthal of something that's legal in their state. Like the previous Rosenthal jury before them, they will be robbed of the pride that comes from serving the cause of justice and they may soon stand with him in solidarity as did their predecessors.

Even in victory, our government's campaign against medical marijuana stands naked before us, utterly fraudulent and disgraceful as ever before.

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What an abomination...

It's time for Congress to protect us ALL from such abortions of justice; the Hinchey-Rohrabacher amendment MUST pass this year.
Of all the ridiculous and harmful prohibitions our "authorities" provide for our benefit-- Cannabis prohibition is the most egregious abomination of them all. Get the hell rid of it!

--Richard P Steeb, San Jose

Rosenthal:Just Another Rich Pot Grower with a Kleenex in Court

Reading the press stories about St Ed and his obvious scam farm of honky tonk pot I just gotta laugh at the integrity of the 420 society, and how easily they are cognitive fools on dope. Read the line" meant for sick people"
( not _delivered_ to sick people not _given_ to sick people or not even exclusively _for_ sick people) and see the first of many such weasal worded conjectures that straight America no longer finds amusing.

Mr Ed fucking well knows that some city bi law allowing a pot farm is not, I repeat NOT an overrider to federal law.. and why he and his sidewalk cardboard wavers seem to think operating a pot factory is an mere technical oopsie,, a mere confusion regarding levels of permission, it why he is in so much trouble..
That his staunch supporters ( ALA witnesesss ) refuse to testify is of no value- the Judge is also cool and reminds them they will all go to jail if they don't tell the truth ( AKA comply with the deal they made with the courts to testify in exchange for staying out of jail ) .. oh, unless they also forgot that a plea deal is a binding contract and that they were deliberately breaking it .

Medical marijuana has shown itself to be an enormous swindle in America. Unless self serving pot pirates like Ed Rosenthal are pushed off the stump and sincere players who know the rules take the lead, there will never ever be any sort of workable reality between the US goivt and the fringe stoners. Your nation is at war you idiots, there is no room for a bunch of retro yippy dope ponies to clog the road dropping their all organic healing manure all over.

Ok. You're a little confused

".. and why he and his sidewalk cardboard wavers seem to think operating a pot factory is an mere technical oopsie,, a mere confusion regarding levels of permission, it why he is in so much trouble.."

Ed isn't in trouble. He got "time-served." No probation, no nothing. That's what's so stupid about this. Our government went to all this trouble just to make an example of him. Meanwhile 80% of Americans support medical marijuana and reject the notion that Ed Rosenthal is a criminal.

If you read the coverage of this case in any U.S. newspaper, it is overwhelmingly the government, and not Ed, that looks stupid. There's no room for debate on this point. That's how it is, and how it should be.

Ok, someone needs to read a little.

How about the Constitution, that will be a good place to start. "Congress should write no law", and authority not expressly given to the Federal Government shall be given to the states.

The Federal Government has no authority to tell the states what to do unless it is written in the Constitution. The Fed is in place to protect life, liberty & the pursuit of happiness, not to restrict them. The states are the only ones with the Constitutional power to allow or disallow prohibition. Therefore your statement where you said federal law trumps state law is completely false. The states and local Government are the only ones who have the right to restrict marijuana use.

The Federal Government assumes powers that it doesn't have and it is people like you, who do not understand the Constitution , that allows them to trick Americans into believing they are all powerful.

Do yourself a favor, read the Constitution, learn how our Government supposed to work.

Another rich potr grower

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha LOL SIDEWALK CARDBOARD WAVERS you said it!!!!!!!!! who are these people who just show up and bark like dogs but neverdo anything of value for the medpot movement ??

Oregon Sid

rich pot grower with kleenex

i gotta say that kook who wrote that is probly somebody who profits from marijuana prohabition .he is headed for hell

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