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Drug Testing News
Calif. Jurors
Convict, Then Decry Marijuana Verdict
Wed Feb 5, 3:09 PM ET
By Adam Tanner
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - First the jury convicted one of
America's most outspoken marijuana advocates on drug charges.
Now, just days later, jurors are praising him, expressing
unusual regret about their verdict and saying vital evidence
was withheld from them.
The San Francisco Federal Court jury found Ed Rosenthal, 58, a
columnist who has written many books on marijuana, guilty on
Friday on three counts of growing marijuana. The judge in the
case refused to let jurors hear Rosenthal's defense: that he
was growing the drug for medical use, something legal under
state law while illegal under federal law.
"We obviously came up with the wrong verdict," jury member
Marney Craig said in an interview on Wednesday. "Ed Rosenthal
did not get a fair trial.
"Nothing we can do can make up for the fact that we are
sending him to prison."
Craig, a property manager who is also 58 years old, is one of
several jurors who complain that they were not told that
Rosenthal was cultivating the weed as an "officer" for the
city of Oakland's medical marijuana program.
Judge Charles Breyer did not allow defense lawyers to
introduce testimony on that issue because growing marijuana
for any reason is a federal offense.
He did not return calls on the case. One of the prosecutors in
the case, Geoffrey Hansen, also declined to comment.
Experts say a change of heart by the jury does not have legal
significance, although it could win public support for the
defendant. "It is rare but not unheard of," said Peter Joy,
director of trial and advocacy program at the Washington
University in St Louis School of Law.
"It typically happens when there has been some information
that has been withheld from them that they feel would have
affected the decision that has been made," he said. "In and of
itself, it does not have any legal significance."
ROSENTHAL THANKS THE JURY
Rosenthal, who is free on bail pending a sentencing hearing in
June, praised the jury on Wednesday even though its original
verdict could mean spending the rest of his life behind bars.
The judge denied a government motion on Tuesday to imprison
Rosenthal immediately, saying there were important legal
issues to consider in the appeal.
"I am really grateful to the jurors," Rosenthal told Reuters.
"It was very brave of them to come out and express their
views."
"It does show that I did not get a fair trial."
At the same time, he said their statements did not change the
verdict. "Right now I am still convicted of three felonies,"
said Rosenthal, whose books include "Marijuana Grower's
Handbook: The Indoor High Yield Guide" and "Marijuana
Question? Ask Ed."
"What they did has no legal ramifications ... But by the end
of the case I believe will be found innocent," he said,
referring to his efforts to overturn the decision on appeal.
The Rosenthal case marks the latest battle over medical
marijuana between the nation's most populous state and the
federal government, which has recently been cracking down on
California clubs providing the drug to ill patients.
Nine states, including California, allow medical use of
marijuana under state law, but the federal government
prohibits such use.
