Charles Lynch sentenced to 366 days in prison for growing legal medical marijuana in California (UPDATE)

(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.

Lynch’s 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 Bay’s mayor, city attorney and other civic leaders.

Judge Wu seems like he didn’t want to sentence Lynch but his hands were tied by Joe Biden’s mandatory minimum sentencing laws.

(Update [from Reason.com]): Reason.tv’s Ted Balaker, on the scene at the Lynch sentencing, reports that Charlie Lynch has been sentenced to three one-year sentences that will run concurrently, plus one day in jaul.

Lynch is free pending appeal and his lawyers, says Balaker, 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.

What a travesty of justice. Charles Lynch couldn’t have been more (California) law-abiding. He had the blessing of his city council, he was scrupulously following state medical marijuana laws. The feds, of course, won’t allow you to mention those facts at federal trial, because there is no such thing as medical marijuana dispensaries under federal laws, only drug dealers.

Then they try to paint Lynch as some sort of kingpin because he carried a lot of cash, which isn’t surprising — who wants to create a paper trail of check stubs or credit card receipts when buying cannabis at the federally-illegal dispensary? They also tried to paint Lynch as some sort of predator because he helped patients under the age of eighteen who happened to have severe medical conditions, a doctor’s recommendation, and their parents’ blessing, and in fact could not even enter the dispensary without their parents. Finally, they tried to tar the whole medical marijuana movement by saying Lynch was serving people who weren’t visibly sick (just what does an HIV+ person look like? or someone with irritable bowel? or a migraine sufferer? or someone with asthma or epilepsy? Can you spot them by looks alone?)

President Obama, this isn’t funny anymore. Good people like Charles Lynch and Eddy Lepp will be incarcerated while the greedy thieves who wrecked Wall Street will enjoy their taxpayer-funded bonuses. Providers of medicine to the truly sick will languish in prison cells while the ministers of torture from the previous administration will go on six-figure speaking tours. Citizens scrupulously obeying state law and paying taxes will be jailed by the feds while our states desperately seek ways to raise revenue and cut costs. This is insanity.

FREE CHARLES LYNCH! FREE EDDY LEPP!