In a two-page letter submitted Tuesday, Lockyer asked Breyer, when he sentences Rosenthal June 4, "to consider the California Compassionate Use Act of 1996 ... which authorizes the possession or cultivation of marijuana for the personal medical purposes of the patient upon the written or oral recommendation or approval of a physician."

Rosenthal's prosecution underscores the federal government's position that medical marijuana is illegal, that it has no medical value and that the will of California voters has no affect on federal drug law.

Lockyer asked Breyer "to impose the minimum sentence allowed under the federal sentencing guidelines."

Dennis Riordan, Rosenthal's attorney, said the lowest allowable term would be no prison time at all.

The federal Probation Department is recommending a 21-month term, according to court documents. The maximum term is 60 years. Prosecutors have not said how much time they are seeking and did not return a call Tuesday seeking comment.

Meanwhile, nine of Rosenthal's 12 jurors also asked the judge not to imprison Rosenthal. The panelists decried their own verdict after learning that Rosenthal was acting under the auspices of the city of Oakland's marijuana program.

"We feel strongly that Mr. Rosenthal deserves uninterrupted freedom because we convicted him without having all of the evidence," the nine jurors wrote Breyer Tuesday.

Rosenthal 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."

The case is United States v. Rosenthal, 02-0053.