Bummer, dude: Readers disagree with sentence against pot dispensary operator
5:46 PM, June 12, 2009
Lynch During his trial, Charles Lynch came to represent the growing discrepancies between state and federal drug enforcement policies. On Thursday, he was sentenced to a year and a day in prison.
Lynch, who operated a medical marijuana dispensary in Morro Bay, was convicted last summer of cultivating and distributing marijuana, despite being sanctioned by his town's mayor. Lynch's attorneys struggled to defend him, in part because of a Supreme Court ruling that bars medical necessity from being used as a defense against federal drug charges.
During sentencing, U.S. District Judge George H. Wu expressed his sympathy toward Lynch, noting that he had little choice but to impose the minimum sentence.
Although the trial has come to a close, the debate over California's medical marijuana laws is still ongoing. Many L.A. Now readers expressed outrage over the sentencing, arguing that prosecuting owners of pot dispensaries is a waste of government resources.
"Your tax dollars at hard work while CA goes broke. I'm glad that real crime (murder, gang warface, rape, child molestation, embezzlement, the financial sector, etc...) has been resolved so that we can waste time and tax money investigating and prosecuting somebody for growing a plant... Every one of you deserves a hearty pat on the back for putting such a dangerous and vile monster behind bars," mslade wrote.
(Read more comments after the jump)
"Our prohibition has encouraged scare tactics over evidence, ruined countless American lives with prison sentences, and has helped no one except for drug dealers, drug enforcers, and the private prison system. The drug war is without a doubt THE BIGGEST waste of money in our Nation's history. It's time for rational people from all political views and walks of life to stand up for what we know is right," said Stephen.
Others defended the governments choice to prosecute Lynch.
"Those of us real people who live in real L.A. neighborhoods know better. We have seen that after these marijuana dispensaries open, there is more crime, more vandalism, more people buying pot at dispensaries and then re-selling it on the streets, more stoned people causing problems, more people driving under the influence and getting in car accidents," wrote Arturo.
Many readers who oppose California's medical marijuana laws assert that most people who take advantage of them are not actually ill. "Most of the people I know with a recommendation have paid off dirty doctors to get it. I know no chronically ill patients but I know about 10 people with recommendations. Wonder why the economy in CA is in bad shape? It could be that many our citizens sit around and smoke weed all day," said C.
What do you think of California's medical marijuana laws? Is prosecuting dispensary owners a waste of government resources?
-- Brendan Bigelow
Photo: Charles Lynch, the owner of a Morro Bay medical marijuana dispensary, was convicted of violating federal drug laws despite having the backing of his town's mayor and other city leaders. Credit: Ken Hively / Los Angeles Times
