Charles Lynch Sentenced
Federal judge sentences medical marijuana dispensary owner to a year and a day.
Thu, Jun 11, 2009 5:20 pm
Charles Lynch, owner of the Central Coast Compassionate Caregivers medical marijuana dispensary in Morro Bay, was sentenced today to one year and one day in prison. Lynch’s sentencing came after a lengthy delay during which U.S. District Court Judge George Wu sought clarification from the Attorney General’s office regarding what – if any – impact the Obama administration’s new policy regarding medical marijuana would have on the case.
Earlier this year, Attorney General Eric Holder announced the administration’s plan to respect state medical marijuana laws by only targeting marijuana distributors who violate both federal and state law.
Lynch was convicted of five marijuana-related offenses in 2008, yet his attorneys and supporters remained hopeful the policy shift would affect his sentence. However, the Justice Department responded by stating that Lynch’s conviction was “entirely consistent with the policies of (the department) and with public statements made by the attorney general.” Thus, Charles Lynch faced a mandatory minimum five-year sentence and up to 20 years in federal prison.
Today Judge Wu found that the case called for an exception to the mandatory minimum guideline and sentenced the 47-year-old Lynch to one year and one day in prison.
However, according to Reason.tv’s Ted Balaker who was at the courthouse in Los Angeles, “Lynch is free pending appeal and his lawyers … seem extremely happy and relieved with the sentence and are convinced they will knock it down much lower and that Lynch will not be in prison anytime soon.”
Lynch was convicted last summer of violating federal law – prior to the Obama administration’s policy shift. His attorneys were unable to introduce evidence of Mr. Lynch’s legitimate and often altruistic business practices – which aided chronically ill patients – due to the Supreme Court’s 2001 ruling “that medical necessity is not a defense to manufacturing and distributing marijuana."
The Marijuana Policy Project has condemned Mr. Lynch’s sentence as “a cruel and pointless miscarriage of justice.” The MPP also points out, “Lynch’s medical marijuana collective was licensed by the city of Morro Bay, and officials routinely inspected the facility to monitor compliance with state and local laws.”
Mr. Lynch’s case has taken on significance as it proved a lighting rod for debate, first over the disparity between state and federal law, and then again over the influence of the Obama administration’s new medical marijuana policy.











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Zero G
Aug 6 2009, 6:23 pm
Heyo
Jul 20 2009, 4:02 am
treehunger
Jul 12 2009, 4:13 am
Yes, very hopeful, and slightly impatient.
treehugger
Jul 8 2009, 10:24 pm
treehugger
Jul 4 2009, 7:12 am
treehugger
Jul 2 2009, 5:06 pm
How do you think we got where we are? Legislation. Now we just have to unlegislate it. But the type you're looking for - don't exist in your generation.
The Chicago 7 was the last time I was impressed, and I was only 6! But if not for them, and Lennon, and George Carlin and the like I may not have plead guilty @ 18, no college, no career, and no big-dollar-taxes being paid in.
Great plan America, incarcerate all of your future engineers, doctors, architects, cosmologists, futurists. India and China are exporting billions. Put us away for life. Cut off your hand to spite your "moral majoritive sensiblity's". Meanwhile, millions more starve cuz they're growing high fructose corn syrup for us? And you try and patent a plant you've banned globally? Wow! Globalization.
"...we out number law enforcement 500-to-1" that might cover the military, but not the police, sheriffs, state troopers, National Guard, Coast Guard (they're busy cleaning beaches) and the DEA/FED types.
We're almost there. Can't you feel the frenzy? Cops even seem a little nervous. 1/3 of the states friendly? You only need 1/3 more, and the entire planet will back your revolution if they fail to act.
treehugger
Jul 2 2009, 4:05 pm
to: Ultimale - while the grammar was difficult to navigate, sentence structure non-existent, it was readable, albeit verbose and yet empty at-the-same-time.
The first three paragraphs summarized without your surmises - complacency breeds ignorance, and the path of least resistence is often the most traveled.
"Legalize all drugs"? - You can't be serious? I have a better idea - replace them all with pot!
"Let businesses that f*ck up fail" - and allow another 20 million employees to lose their jobs? Because irresposible legislation, and non-existent fiduciary ethics for 30 years, has "legally" created their environment?
"Tax the rich with very high taxes. I don't care if this is socialism" Socialism taxes everyone equally, no excuses, no 6' thick books of loop-holes, and is known and hated for being more compassionate to the less fortunate. Can I take my "social security" and move to Canada or Holland? I give up on this place.
"Watch a TV show like Ryal Pains to see how obscenely rich some people are- emphasis on the obscene". - Been happenin for MILLENIA! Why do you think they oulawed usery? Why do you think we legalized it? Globalized it? The same reason Bin Laden attacked us.
"I am going to assume that people who come to this website our probably teens and 20 something year olds" - Easily discerned, as they no grammatical skills, remove the 'shift' and 'period' and most of the vowel keys from their keyboards, while blasting people who type in all caps? Yes, that's very mature, tolerant behavior. I can see why Congress should be more tolerant of our wishes much better now...
"We are a people that is too scared and stupid to ever be free again. Its funny that whenever I write one of these comments with ideas to better the world, they always end as a eulogy" - Well, I had a difficult time finding ANY ideas, so I will not be writing Obama today. But he gets all of my ideas direct, as do the useless legislators in FL, WEEKLY.
treehugger
Jul 2 2009, 3:24 pm
You're looking at 175 trillion just to replace the power grid. Plus, 1/2 the bridges, dams, sewer and water mains, roads, schools, airports. Infrastructure alone - about 500 trillion. And people cry when they spend a few billion?
Land of the Slave
Jun 29 2009, 6:30 am
But, no one these days wants to get physical, no one wants to make any sacrifice that might mean getting hurt or even dying. This nation isn't free, we don't have true liberty, there is so much damn regulation, taxation, corruption,24/7 news propaganda,misleading, manipulation, ect. to the people that its waaaay over due for a Revolution and taking the country back, we out number law enforcement 500-to-1, and that's a conservative number, we're going to get into a confrontation with the Govt. the way they keep pushing and laying down more and more oppressiveness, they want a Brave New World and a 1984 style super technocracy super police state, that's not what the Founding Fathers intended.
jordon*db*
Jun 26 2009, 1:24 pm
me
Jun 25 2009, 1:43 pm
Miss Blaze
Jun 16 2009, 11:02 pm
I am hopefull that the US and Canada will soon come to their senses and at least decriminalize weed. So many tax dollars go to keeping innocent people in jail for marijuana related 'crimes'.
:( It's time for Change!!!!
Miss Blaze
Miss High Times
Congress is requesting
Jun 14 2009, 5:58 pm
"clarify" the new medical marijuana policy,maybe we will get some idea of what kind of hoops we have to roll the wheel chairs and gurneys through to produce and distribute the medicine and meet federal requirements.
And,it may provide Mr. Lynch some leverage in his appeal.
It only took 4 months for congress to ask,let's see how long we have to wait for the answer.
Justice???
Jun 14 2009, 5:49 pm
a 140 billion dollar hole in our economy,and we gave them more money to do it again. They need to try the same thing with Mr Lynch and give him more product to sale,especially since he was an entrepreneur and making money,like any good capitalist should. An
example of exactly what our leaders say is the strength of America.
fuck em,grow your own
Unko Bob
Jun 13 2009, 9:22 pm
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lol
Jun 13 2009, 4:53 pm
In michigan they are closing 8 prisons. They should let out pot smokers first but its not that way. They would rather let out a violent criminal
bongbarian
Jun 13 2009, 12:34 pm
ps. Push INTEGRITY- start w/Fiscal Integrity, & go from there- its been lost, find it & many win.
day vid letter men
Jun 12 2009, 8:47 pm
cannabis sativa afghanica
Jun 12 2009, 6:24 pm
unforgivable
Jun 12 2009, 5:09 pm
Token Timmy
Jun 12 2009, 4:52 pm
However, I'm sure the prosecutor and the judge were getting kickbacks to sentence this DANGEROUS MAN...LOL!
Ultimale
Jun 12 2009, 1:01 pm
America needs to wake the f*ck up. The rich are gutting us, the politicians that are supposed to play the part of referee only seem to call fowl when they see someone owning a legitimate medical marijuana facility as opposed to running a pharmaceutical company.
The sad thing is, I never considered myself to be a genius, but I can see all the things that are wrong with the world and the simple ways to solve them, but people are afraid of change. People would rather sleep walk into oblivion with what is already familiar to them than try something new that might save them.
Legalize all drugs, punish the crimes that may come from the use of them, like stealing, murder and the like- but there is no reason why drugs can't be treated similar to alcohol. Or cigarettes, with new legislation that makes makes poison less poisonous.
Let businesses that f*ck up fail. New companies, with new visions will take their place. Thats what history has proven if anyone ever read a history book.
Tax the rich with very high taxes. I don't care if this is socialism. Watch a TV show like Ryal Pains to see how obscenely rich some people are- emphasis on the obscene. There are people who make 50 times more in a year than a person makes in their whole lifetime. i don't care what profession you are in or what skills you have- no one is worth that much. And it is a zero-sum game- in the respect that in order to pay someone 50 Million dollars a year, those are millions NOT going to the middle and lower class, or to new jobs.
I am going to assume that people who come to this website our probably teens and 20 something year olds. I would say that we need to do something, to fight this... but, there is no hope. The govt is too powerful. Nobody wants to go to jail, and if you do anything in today's world, they will find you. The govt played a perfect game, took money of education to keep the people dumb, emphasized a threat to scare people into submission and give up their rights.
We are a people that is too scared and stupid to ever be free again. Its funny that whenever I write one of these comments with ideas to better the world, they always end as a eulogy.
Listen to Green Day's 21st Century Breakdown- they hit the proper tone.
??
Jun 12 2009, 12:03 pm
When a legit dispensary owner is arrested, tried, convicted and sentenced under the new administration, then we can blame Obama. Right now we're just seeing the previous administration's cruel idiocy playing out.
gstlab3
Jun 12 2009, 11:47 am
disappointed
Jun 12 2009, 4:59 am
umm
Jun 12 2009, 1:00 am
Hope Cnn is pro freedom of choice for adults - you know, freedom of our constitutional rights, you know that little thing. :)
fred and dino red eyed
Jun 11 2009, 11:07 pm
Can the U.S. afford to make pot legal? Can we afford not to? We’re keeping them honest on both sides of the argument. All next week, 10 ET"
http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/
FUCK YEAH, *ALL* NEXT WEEK!
No baldwins on the show, please.. SPREAD THE WORD!!!!!!!!!!
CNN'S GONNA HAVE A SHOW ON THE ISSUE OF LEGALIZATION *ALL* *NEXT* *WEEK*!
...
Jun 11 2009, 9:36 pm
bongbarian
Jun 11 2009, 8:30 pm
kyle
Jun 11 2009, 7:18 pm
they say
Jun 11 2009, 7:12 pm
proof
Jun 11 2009, 7:08 pm
with no real change.
*
Jun 11 2009, 6:24 pm
Free Charlie Lynch
anonymous
Jun 11 2009, 5:37 pm
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