Oakland
The federal government is prosecuting a California man who was authorized by the City of Oakland to grow marijuana. Ed Rosenthal went on trial this week for growing 3,163 marijuana seedlings intended for sale to patients whose doctors had prescribed the drug. California voters made marijuana legal for medicinal purposes in 1996. But the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2001 that “medical necessity is not a defense” in federal cases against growers and distributors. “This is a huge conflict,” said a spokesperson for the state attorney general. “State law legalizes medical marijuana, and federal law makes marijuana illegal. Period.”
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