Jail Term to Be Sought in Medical Marijuana Case

As a believer in medical marijuana, much to the chagrin and naysaying of my multiple doctor in-laws, the NYT has a story about a dispensary owner in Morro Bay, CA. Hope Eric Holder keeps his word.
By SOLOMON MOORE

LOS ANGELES —Government lawyers are expected to ask a federal judge to impose a five-year sentence on the owner of a marijuana dispensary, less than one month after Attorney General Eric H. Holder announced that federal authorities would not prosecute medical marijuana shop owners if they complied with local and state laws.
But the United States Attorney for the Central District of California, Thomas O’Brien, argued that Charles C. Lynch broke state laws because he was not a primary caregiver to his customers — a requirement under California medical marijuana law — and in fact provided no medical services beyond the sale of marijuana.
Mr. Lynch, who ran a small dispensary in the surfing hamlet of Morro Bay, has become a symbol for the medical marijuana movement since his shop was raided in 2007. A registered business owner, Mr. Lynch has the support of the city’s mayor, city attorney, and the local chamber of commerce.
Medical marijuana advocates see the case as a test of the Obama administration’s policy of non-interference on state marijuana laws. California is one of 13 states that allow the cultivation and sale of marijuana for medicinal purposes.
Mr. O’Brien alleged that Mr. Lynch’s dispensary attracted illicit marijuana sales which took place in the area around his business and involved both employees and customers of his shop. Prosecution documents described Mr. Lynch’s dispensary as having “a casual, almost carnival-like attitude towards the use and distribution of marijuana.”
Reuven Cohen, Mr. Lynch’s lawyer, said that his client paid his taxes, registered his business with the city, and followed California laws. He argued that if the federal government believed that Mr. Lynch broke California laws, prosecutors should have consented to have the case removed to state court.
“This is really a states rights issue,” said Mr. Cohen, referring to Proposition 215, which legalized marijuana for medicinal purposes. “We voted for this stuff this and for the federal government to do this is undemocratic. We want the federal government to not be so ridiculous.”
Judge George H. Wu, a Bush appointed jurist who is hearing his first federal case, delayed sentencing for one month following the conviction of Charles C. Lynch on five counts related to running a marijuana dispensary and selling medical marijuana to customers under 21, the federal age of a minor. Selling medical marijuana is legal under California law, but not under federal law. Judge Wu said he wanted clarification on the attorney general’s position on the prosecution.
H. Marshall Jarrett, the director of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, on Friday sent a letter to United States Attorney Thomas P. O’Brien of Los Angeles guiding him to seek a five year sentence. Mr. Jarrett was the head of the Justice Department’s ethics office until Mr. Holder replaced him earlier this year after allegations of prosecutorial misconduct in the botched corruption case against former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens.

If only this would pass in Pennsylvania. I don't even think it has ever been brought up in the PA legislature. I would definitely go back in the brownie business and sell some edible pot which would be a better and safer way to ingest the THC.