Wednesday, April 16, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

EDITORIAL: Truth and trials

More than two dozen House members have introduced a bill which might prevent future Ed Rosenthal-style prosecutions. Permanently.

Mr. Rosenthal, a medical marijuana activist from Oakland, was convicted in January on three felony counts of violating federal drug and conspiracy laws. Throughout the trial, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer refused to allow jurors to know that the self-styled "pot guru" was warehousing medical marijuana, intended to treat sick Bay Area residents ... and legally permissible under California's Proposition 215.

The jurors, left willfully ignorant of Mr. Rosenthal's legal activities, convicted the 58-year-old on all three counts. He faces up to 85 years in jail.

If the so-called Truth in Trials Act passes both houses of Congress, future Ed Rosenthals will have a fighting chance in court. The bill would amend federal law to allow defendants arrested on marijuana charges to introduce evidence that their activities "were performed in compliance with state law regarding the medical use of marijuana."

Individuals who grow, warehouse or distribute marijuana for medicinal purposes in states which allow the practice -- including Nevada -- could offer an "affirmative defense" of their actions based on state laws.

Both houses of Congress should act quickly to protect the hundreds of Ed Rosenthal's fellows who are engaged in legitimate, legal acts of compassion.