Quick Hits (page 2)
Ed Rosenthal found guilty
By: SF Chronicle
A federal jury in San Francisco found Ed Rosenthal, one of the nation's most prominent marijuana advocates, guilty Friday of felony conspiracy and cultivation charges -- a triumph for federal prosecutors seeking to override California's endorsement of pot as medicine.
Jurors deliberated less than a day before finding the 58-year-old Oakland resident -- a columnist for High Times and Cannabis Culture magazines and author of more than a dozen books -- guilty of all three felonies charged. Rosenthal faces a minimum of five years in prison.
His wife, brother and daughter embraced one another and wept in the courtroom when the verdict was announced. Outside, demonstrators chanted and waved signs advocating his acquittal.
The verdict ended the Bay Area's first federal medical-marijuana trial, part of a high-profile federal crackdown that started immediately after passage of Proposition 215, the 1996 California initiative that allowed seriously ill patients to obtain the drug with a doctor's approval.
"There is no such thing as medical marijuana," Richard Meyer, a spokesman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, told the Associated Press. "We're Americans first, Californians second."
The only defense victory Friday was a jury finding that Rosenthal conspired to grow more than 100 plants and not more than 1,000, which would have carried a mandatory 10-year sentence. The 100-plant finding requires at least a five- year term, which could be lessened only if Rosenthal were to cooperate with prosecutors, something he has shown no sign of doing.
"We're going to fight this case all the way," he declared outside the courthouse.
Besides conspiracy and cultivating more than 100 marijuana plants, Rosenthal was convicted of maintaining a place where marijuana was grown. Federal agents said they found more than 3,000 plants last February in an Oakland warehouse leased by Rosenthal, but his attorneys argued that most of them were rootless cuttings that were not technically "plants."
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Mary Jane'z Novelties
Growin' Our Own (page 2)
The supply side of things (Part 2)
By: Elmore Stone
The Big Dogs of the Drug Trade.
To read part 1 click here.
I can't factually say that I have ever personally met one of the global suppliers. I can factually say that I have met a global supplier's direct intermediary. It was a fascinating experience and a quick peek into the minds of people who wield such immense power and wealth.
In 1970 or 71 I was on a ship and we were tied to the retrograde pier at the port of Cam Ranh, Republic of Vietnam. At that time I was quite young, a mere 22 or 23 years old. The ship I sailed on was general cargo ship. Five holds, three forward and two aft. Kingposts, booms and rigging everywhere. I was on the pier - my watch over for eight hours - and was talking to, or more accurately listening to, this old boy. He was an American citizen somewhere in his late fifties, though he was of French descent. His family had immigrated to the U.S. just prior to World War II.
He was very well spoken in English and a few other languages. He was wearing the typical wild colored Hawaiian shirt, faded blue jeans, elephant hide cowboy boots and a rolex watch from hell. That thing was covered with diamonds. And when I say diamonds .... I mean diamonds. No chips there, they were rocks. You could tell by listening to him that he was sharp as a tack. You could also tell he had been around the block a few times and was not afraid to get his hands dirty. I remember two things more than anything else. The first was a piece of wisdom. He said to me:
"Kid, there are three kinds of drug users in this world. The majority smoke pot. They may try something else, but they will stick to pot. Then there are the idiots. They use heroin. Last are the ladies and gentlemen who prefer a fine high. They smoke hashish and opium."
You know, that was 31 or 32 years ago and I've got to admit he had it nailed down pat. The other thing that really stands out was that when this conversation took place, directly to my right were two wooden pallets. Each pallet held fifty 20 pound bags of pure, uncut, white heroin. That is a total of one hundred 20 pound bags of 'H'. Twenty times one hundred equals two thousand. Two thousand pounds, or one ton of 'Horse'. He had sold the load and was waiting for another ship to tie up on the opposite of the pier from us so this many times a multi-million dollar cargo could be onloaded.
I took it from him, right or wrong, that he was not the boss but damn close to it. Once the cargo was onloaded he would return to Saigon and catch a flight to the Philippines. He would be in Manila within 24 hours, conduct some business there (my guess is money laundering) and then fly to Bangkok, Thailand. I asked no questions.
I never knew what that dude's name was. He did not offer it and I, though quite naive at the time, knew enough not to ask. The point here is this, that old boy was moving one ton of the heavyist drug in the world. He did it right in broad daylight and had absolutely no concerns about being busted or killed. At least he sure did not show it. That is why I truly believe that if he was not the boss, he was no more than one or two rungs down from the top. He was, well, he was untouchable. And he knew it.
Think about it. In the middle of a war zone, U.S. military intelligence supposedly able to track anything and everything, and some guy wearing a Hawaiian shirt, etc., brings a ton of heroin onto a base that purportedly had some of the highest security in that country at that time. And nobody knew about it? Nobody knew about one ton of heroin being moved from god knows where to Cam Ranh Bay? Ten tons of opium were processed into one ton of heroin and nobody knew about it? It is unbelievable. In fact it is inconceivable!
The fact is that somebody, or several somebodies, must have known about it and turned a 'blind-eye' toward the event. Nothing else makes sense. Not one whit.
See what I mean about power? These people wield an amazing amount of power. Due to their wealth, which provides the means for the power, these people, these global suppliers can, have done and continue to alter the conduct and political power structure of entire countries. All based upon drugs. All based upon the hard currency derived from the drug trade. Kings and presidents have got nothing on these guys. They do what they want, when they want and where they want. They are in every sense of the word -- untouchable.
The same used to hold true with marijuana suppliers. But over the last twenty years or so the global dominance of weed suppliers has diminished. Like cocaine, weed has become more regionalized. Hell, with weed it has become localized. Grown by your next door neighbor. Grown by yourself. The issue here is, as with any drug, the quality of the high. Home grown does not compare to Thai weed. To be sure, it pales in comparison. For the really good weed, you have got to import it. I don't mean from Canada or Mexico either. Track down your local supplier and get a price on a lid of Columbian Gold. If you think that price is high, check the price tag on Vietnamese weed. Your supplier will probably just laugh at you. That stuff is as rare as hens' teeth. Thai weed, the second finest kind in the world GI, is still available in limited quantities. Just make damn sure your local supplier knows CPR. Your going to need it because you will probably go into sticker shock. Panama Red, the finest weed ever to be produced and imported? Don't even ask. People haven't been able to get that for, oh, about 30 years.
Return on investment. From the global suppliers' standpoint there is not enough of a profit margin to justify the work involved. Although, if the U.S. ends up in a shooting war in Iraq, that might change some things. But as it currently stands, the profit is not worth the hassle.
No, the global suppliers are first and foremost very sharp businessmen. Which is why they stick to the big two -- opium and heroin. Opium ends up primarily in Europe. Heroin is split almost in half between the U.S. and Europe.
Yeah, the big dogs of the global drug trade give the term 'high finance' a whole new meaning to the tune of hundreds of millions or billions of dollars per annum.
As the old saying goes, "if you can't run with the big dogs ... stay on the porch."
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Pipeline (page 2)
Misguided Marijuana War
By: New York Times
Administration officials annoyed at California's support of the medical use of marijuana have found someone on whom to vent their frustration. Last week, at the urging of federal prosecutors, a judge convicted Ed Rosenthal of charges that carry a five-year minimum sentence. Mr. Rosenthal is a medical-marijuana advocate who grows the drug for use by the seriously ill. His harsh punishment shows that the misguided federal war on medical marijuana has now escalated out of control.
Mr. Rosenthal, who raised marijuana in an Oakland warehouse, was acting within state and local law. California's Proposition 215, which voters approved in a 1996 referendum, permits marijuana use by seriously ill people. In addition, Oakland has its own medical marijuana law, and Mr. Rosenthal was acting as an officer of the city. Nevertheless, the judge refused to allow the defense to mention any of this at his trial, since it is not a valid defense against federal drug charges.
Prosecutors were thus able to present Mr. Rosenthal as an ordinary, big-time drug dealer. After a witness said he had met Mr. Rosenthal "in the context of Proposition 215," the judge instructed the jury to disregard the reference, and took over the questioning himself. The foreman said afterward he felt the jury had had no choice but to convict, but hoped Mr. Rosenthal would win on appeal.
The prosecution of Mr. Rosenthal is only the latest attempt by the federal government to frustrate the will of California voters. Washington has also tried to revoke the licenses of doctors who recommend marijuana to their patients. This strategy was struck down as unconstitutional by a federal court last fall.
The Bush administration's war on medical marijuana is not only misguided but mean-spirited. Doctors have long recognized marijuana's value in reducing pain and aiding in the treatment of cancer and AIDS, among other diseases. A recent poll found that 80 percent of Americans support legalized medical marijuana. The reasons the government gives for objecting to it do not outweigh the good it does. And given the lack of success of the war on drugs in recent years, there must be better places to direct law enforcement resources.
If the Bush administration really believes Proposition 215 has no legal authority, it should seek to strike down the law itself. Or it could go after cities like Oakland, which make medical marijuana available as part of municipal policy. Such an approach could be inconvenient for an administration that favors greater autonomy for state and local governments. But it is less vindictive than a strategy that attacks doctors and people like Mr. Rosenthal.
The courts should not allow Mr. Rosenthal's conviction to stand. It would be a serious injustice if he were to serve years in prison, as he well may. Meanwhile, the administration should stop tyrannizing doctors and sick people and focus on more important aspects of the war on drugs.
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Dakota Joseph Arts