| | Medical marijuana provider Charles Lynch sentenced to 366 days in prison Marijuana Activism  | 
06-11-2009, 10:50 PM
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#1 | | farsi furbo
Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: High As Can Be Gender: 
Posts: 3,183
Stoner Buck$$: 3,646.00 My Mood :  |  Medical marijuana provider Charles Lynch sentenced to 366 days in prison
06-11-2009 11:04 PM (LA Times) The owner of a Morro Bay pot dispensary who emerged as a key figure in the national debate over medical marijuana was sentenced to one year and one day in prison today by a federal judge in Los Angeles.
Charles Lynch, 47, dressed in a dark suit, sat with his hands clasped and stared straight ahead as the sentence was imposed by U.S. District Court Judge George H. Wu. Lynch declined the opportunity to address the court moments earlier. His mother, seated in the courtroom gallery nearby, fought back tears as Wu said he saw no way around imposing a sentence of at least one year.
Lynchs case made headlines nationwide and came to symbolize the tension between conflicting state and federal marijuana laws. Cultivating, using and selling doctor-recommended marijuana is allowed under some circumstances in California and about a dozen other states, but such activities are banned entirely under federal law.
Lynch was prosecuted for illegally distributing marijuana from his Central Coast Compassionate Caregivers facility, despite having the blessing of Morro Bays mayor, city attorney and other civic leaders.
The Obama Administration had signaled that it will not seek prosecutions and raids against medical marijuana dispensary owners who are acting in accordance with state laws. *Charles Lynch couldn’t have followed state laws more scrupulously, but that is a moot point in the federal courthouse, where defendants cannot even mention the medical nature of their legal state-approved business.
This case highlights the need to pass Rep. Barney Franks’ Medical Marijuana Protection Act of 2009, to be introduced later today. *The bill would protect providers and patients in the thirteen medical marijuana states from harassment and prosecution by federal authorities (more on that bill later today).
In the meantime, we can appeal to the man who can bring us some Change We Can Believe In, President Obama, who in the stroke of a pen can commute Charles Lynch’s sentence just as easily as former President Bush commuted former VP Chief of Staff Scooter Libby’s sentence in the CIA agent-outing Valerie Plame case. *Mr. Lynch would remain convicted and retain a criminal record, but he would be spared of any prison time. *Or President Obama could do the truly honorable thing and pardon Mr. Lynch just as easily as former President Ford pardoned former President Nixon, absolving him of any conviction or prison time.
The Change we’d like to see is our Federal Government respecting the will of the people in thirteen states regarding medical use of marijuana and our President living up to his campaign promises to focus his Justice Department resources on more urgent matters. Call President Obama at 202-456-1111.
Tell him to commute the sentence of
Charles Lynch or pardon him outright! More... | 
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06-12-2009, 01:56 AM
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#2 | | 'Knowledge is Freedom'
Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: 'The Mile High' Gender:
Posts: 1,620
Stoner Buck$$: 3,312.87 My Mood :  | Re: Medical marijuana provider Charles Lynch sentenced to 366 days in prison
JDR Show w/Charles C Lynch Interview >> The John Doe Radio Show Blog Archive John Doe Radio Volume 5 Show 1
I hope he stays safe.
There is NO reason for him to be heading to prison.
None. He followed the law, and i havent talked with more of an innocent character than Charles. Just a man trying to get by in the best way he could. Take a minute to think about what a year in prison would be like for yourself. And then send Charles C. Lynch and Eddy Lepp your good thoughts and vibes. Quote: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JUNE 11, 2009
MPP Condemns Prison Sentence for Medical Marijuana Defendant Charles C. Lynch Law-Abiding Medical Marijuana Collective Was Licensed by City CONTACT: Bruce Mirken, MPP director of communications, 415-585-6404 or 202-215-4205
Aaron Smith, MPP California policy director, 707-575-9870
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA The Marijuana Policy Project strongly condemned today's federal sentencing of Charles C. Lynch, a California medical marijuana provider who worked scrupulously to follow state and local laws but now faces one year and one day in federal prison.
"Years from now, Mr. Lynch may well be remembered as the last American to go to federal prison for a mistake, the final victim of an already repudiated policy well on its way to the ash heap of history, but whose mean-spirited effects still linger," said MPP executive director Rob Kampia. "This sentence is a cruel and pointless miscarriage of justice. Mr. Lynch and his attorneys say they plan to appeal, and we hope they succeed. With federal law enforcement at the Mexican border so overwhelmed that traffickers coming through with up to 500 pounds of marijuana are let go, even one more penny spent persecuting a man who is not a criminal in any rational sense of the word is an outrageous waste of resources."
In February, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced that henceforth the Drug Enforcement Administration would only conduct enforcement actions against medical marijuana defendants who were violating both state and federal law, reversing the Bush administration's policy of ignoring state medical marijuana laws.
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. But because federal law makes no statutory allowance for medical marijuana, all evidence related to California's medical marijuana law was barred from his trial.
With more than 27,000 members and 100,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit http://MarijuanaPolicy.org.
#### | Quote: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JUNE 9, 2009
House Appropriations Committee Seeks Clarification on Medical Marijuana Policy
Amendment Seeks Explanation in Light of Attorney General Holder's Recent Statements CONTACT: Bruce Mirken, MPP director of communications ............... 202-215-4205 or 415-585-6404
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In light of recent statements by Attorney General Eric Holder indicating that the Obama administration would not pursue prosecutions of individuals involved in medical marijuana activities sanctioned by state law, the House Appropriations Committee has added language seeking clarification of the new policy to the Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bill.
The language, sponsored by Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.), states, "There have been conflicting public reports about the Department's enforcement of medical marijuana policies. Within 60 days of enactment, the Department shall provide to the Committee clarification of the Department's policy regarding enforcement of federal laws and use of federal resources against individuals involved in medical marijuana activities."
In past years, Hinchey and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) have sponsored an amendment aimed at ending Drug Enforcement Administration raids on state-legal medical marijuana patients and providers. But in recent months, Attorney General Eric Holder has disavowed any intent to pursue such attacks. Last week, Holder told KOB-TV in Albuquerque, "For those organizations that are doing so sanctioned by state law and do it in a way that is consistent with state law, and given the limited resources that we have, that will not be an emphasis for this administration. ... Medicinal marijuana ... that is something for the states to decide."
"We are glad to see the federal government finally moving toward sanity on medical marijuana," said Marijuana Policy Project director of government relations Aaron Houston. "No one battling serious illness and following their state's laws should live in fear of our federal government, and we look forward to clear assurances that suffering patients will be left alone."
With more than 27,000 members and 100,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit http://MarijuanaPolicy.org.
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06-12-2009, 02:17 AM
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#3 | | Sun, Surf, and good Mota!
Join Date: May 2009 Location: So Cali Tropical Chick Gender: 
Posts: 1,757
Stoner Buck$$: 232.87 My Mood :  | Re: Medical marijuana provider Charles Lynch sentenced to 366 days in prison
Dang Mr. Obama, I guess change didn't come
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06-12-2009, 09:50 AM
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#5 | | Hippy
Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Chicago Gender:
Posts: 724
Stoner Buck$$: 375.65 | Re: Medical marijuana provider Charles Lynch sentenced to 366 days in prison
I would say "I'm moving to Canada" but Mark Emery is being fucked up there too.
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06-12-2009, 11:12 AM
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#6 | | Sun, Surf, and good Mota!
Join Date: May 2009 Location: So Cali Tropical Chick Gender:
Posts: 1,757
Stoner Buck$$: 232.87 My Mood : | Re: Medical marijuana provider Charles Lynch sentenced to 366 days in prison
there's only one real safe haven I guess  | |
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