‘Guru of Ganja’ is spared prison time

Ed Rosenthal, the self-described “Guru of Ganja,” will get no prison time despite a conviction for growing and distributing hundreds of marijuana plants, a federal judge ruled Friday.

A jury convicted Rosenthal, 63, in May of three cultivation and conspiracy charges after U.S. District Court Judge Charles Breyer prohibited Rosenthal’s lawyers from telling the jury that he was working for a pot club sanctioned by the city of Oakland.

On Friday, Breyer said a one-day prison sentence was punishment enough for Rosenthal, who once wrote the “Ask Ed” column for High Times magazine and has written books with titles including “The Big Book of Buds” and “Ask Ed: Marijuana Law. Don’t Get Busted.”

Nonetheless, Rosenthal said he planned to appeal his conviction. “I should not remain a felon,” he said.

Rosenthal was previously convicted of the same charges four years ago. Breyer sentenced him to one day in prison because Rosenthal reasonably believed he was immune from prosecution because he was acting on behalf of Oakland city officials.