Pubdate: Fri, 24 Apr 2009
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Copyright: 2009 Los Angeles Times
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/bc7El3Yo
Website: http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248
Author: Scott Glover
Bookmark: http://mapinc.org/people/Charles+Lynch

SENTENCING DELAYED IN MEDICAL MARIJUANA CASE

A Federal Judge Says He's Inclined to Impose Less Than the Required 
Five Years on Charles Lynch, Who Ran a Morro Bay Dispensary. Lawyers 
Are Given Time to File Briefs Before a June Hearing.

The sentencing of a man who has become a key figure in the national 
debate over medical marijuana was postponed Thursday, with a federal 
judge saying he was inclined to impose a more lenient sentence than 
the five years required by federal sentencing guidelines, but 
questioning whether he had the authority to do so.

"If I could find a way out, I would," U.S. District Judge George H. 
Wu said. He gave lawyers in the case until June 2 to file briefs 
regarding the impending sentence of Charles Lynch.

Lynch, 47, ran a medical marijuana dispensary in Morro Bay on the 
Central Coast in 2006 and 2007. Despite having the blessing of the 
city's mayor and other public officials, he was charged with 
violating federal drug laws for distributing marijuana and was 
convicted by a federal court jury in Los Angeles last year.

At the hearing Thursday, Wu heard from several character witnesses, 
including one of Lynch's patients and the young man's father.

"I stand before you today because I believe a man is being punished 
for reasons that don't make much sense," said Owen Beck, whose 
parents took him to Lynch's Central Coast Compassionate Caregivers 
when he was battling bone cancer at age 17. "I believe a great 
injustice is being done."

Beck's father, Steven, told Wu that the chemotherapy his son was 
undergoing was having devastating side effects.

"He could not eat. He could not sleep. His personality became dark 
and angry," the elder Beck said. He told the judge they decided to 
try medical marijuana on the advice of their son's Stanford 
University oncologist. He said Lynch usually gave them marijuana for 
free or at deeply discounted rates.

"I never felt as though Charlie was there for the money," Beck said.

Such testimony was not allowed at Lynch's trial because the Supreme 
Court has ruled that a claim of medical necessity is not a valid defense.

Janice Peters, the mayor of Morro Bay, described Lynch as a "polite, 
compassionate" man who did everything the city asked of him with 
respect to his business.

Rob Schultz, the town's city attorney said he received only one 
complaint about Lynch the whole time he was in business "and that had 
to do with the quality of the medical marijuana."

The comment drew loud laughter from Lynch's supporters, who packed 
the courtroom, many of them wearing green ribbons with the word 
"compassion" printed on them.

Cultivating, using and selling doctor-recommended medical marijuana 
is allowed under some circumstances in California and a dozen other 
states, but federal law bans the drug altogether.

Though Lynch was not charged with violating state law, prosecutors 
contend that he broke the law because he was not truly a "primary 
caregiver" entitled to dispense marijuana to patients and that he 
profited from the operation of his business.

Much of the discussion Thursday dealt with whether Wu was required to 
sentence Lynch to a mandatory minimum of five years or whether the 
defendant was entitled to a lesser sentence under a so-called safety valve.

The next hearing in the case, which the judge said would be the last, 
is scheduled for June 11. 
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake