Free Ed Rosenthal Protests Planned Wednesday at U.S. embassies in London, Paris, Berlin, Oslo, Rome and other World Capitols...Please join!

Ed Rosenthal--author of the Marijuana Growers Guide--is about to be convicted in the US District Court in Oakland, Ca. on charges of "conspiracy", "cultivation" and "manufacturing" medical marijuana. The illegal Bush junta which stole the 2000 election because Clinton was not "tough enough on drugs" alleges that Ed, one of the founders of the modern marijuana movement, is some kind of drug kingpin.

The trial began with the U.S. Judge, Breyer, dismissing more than 2/3 of the jurors because of support for Prop. 215, which made medical marijuana legal in California. After picking a completely unrepresentative jury, the Judge ruled that no "medical marijuana defense" would would be allowed. In fact, Rosenthal was deputized by the city of Oakland so that dispensation of medical marijuana would be covered under the same legal immunity as the narcs. The Judge ruled that Congressional intent (to ban cannabis absolutely) trumped the plain language of the statute that immunizes government agents.

Defense attorneys had sought to force Judge Breyer to allow them the chance to present evidence that would reveal that at least one DEA supervising agent had said, during the Clinton administration, that the federal government would not pursue prosecutions in areas where the local governments were allowing medical distribution. Such testimony would indicate that Mr. Rosenthal had been the victim of a form of entrapment, so the Judge won't allow it. Although Judge Breyer has been forced to allow some testimony by a member of the Oakland City Council that Ed was not trying to conceal his activities, the case is expected to go to the jury Friday without Ed being able to mount an effective defense.

Last February 12 the Bush clique led by Attorney General John Ashcroft arrested Ed in an attempt to silence the cause of medical marijuana which saves the lives of many. Therefore the time has come to confront the US government's attempt to jail Ed for the crime of saving lives by mounting picket lines at U.S. Embassies around the world. 50 to 100 protestors are expected at several of the embassies. The Paris Global Cannabis Coordinator suggested Wednesday as the most convenient day when we can expect to have a verdict in Ed's case.

Dana Beal
Cures-Not-Wars
Global Cannabis March
212-677-7180