Let me first tell you about some of the news in the last 24 hours. 1st we have the following News,"The New Mexico Department of Health has licensed a nonprofit business to produce medical marijuana". Yes indeedie a State has issued a license to grow Pot. The next big news is AG Holder explaining the new US Policy on Medical Marijuana.
Reporting from Los Angeles and Washington -- U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. said Wednesday that the Justice Department has no plans to prosecute pot dispensaries that are operating legally under state laws in California and a dozen other states -- a development that medical marijuana advocates and civil libertarians hailed as a sweeping change in federal drug policy. http://www.latimes.com/...
Guess New Mexico is off the hook for now, but what about Charle Lynch ?
Many, if not most of you have heard Charlies story by now but just in case you haven't Al Roker did a interview with Charlie recently. Here's the clip that should dispel a few lies being told or used by the L.A. US Atty.
The public is paying more and more attention to the marijuana laws these days. Time Magazine just had a article on it, US News has one, Foreign Policy has a new one up today. Throw in the continuing news from the Mexican Border of beheadings, hundreds of Kidnappings, and more people killed in one yr, 6000, over drugs in Mexico than in Iraq. Of course we should not forget that approx. half of all Americans has smoked dope at least once and many of the Boomers never quit.
Now, finally, to the part about the making of a Martyr. I have never met Charles Lynch but I am a legal Medical users, complete with my Dr.s recommendation which is what makes his story so important to me and thousands like me. For Charle to have opened a place where people close to home can find their medicine is the same as what other kind people have done in other Countrys. People with disabilities should never be forced to drive over 100 miles each way to buy their meds when it's not necessary. They are the ones least likely to do it safely or even to afford the gas to get there and back. So what Charles did was of a public service nature to hundreds. To make matters even worse the DEA made sure they closed all the Dispensarys in nearby Santa Barbara, making the drive even longer.
Let's review real quick why Charles is being sentenced on Monday, what AG Holder said today, and how a Martyr could be made.( Ever notice there is alway some injustice involved ?)
He said the Justice Department’s enforcement policy would now be restricted to traffickers who falsely masqueraded as medical dispensaries and "use medical marijuana laws as a shield." Mr. Holder said, "The policy is to go after those people who violate both federal and state law."
Since Charles Lynch did neither, how his case is affected by these recent announcements remains to be seen.
Lynch faces a minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum of 100 years behind bars. His sentencing is Monday, March 23rd, 2009. Lynch did everything a person could have done to comply with the law and was burned by the big brother of the system that gave him its blessing.
In addition to the security guard fiasco, he was convicted of "selling marijuana to minors" because federal authorities consider anyone under 21 to be a minor. Of course that is not true; people become adults at the age of 18. The fact that all of the so-called minors were medical marijuana patients, and legally using the substance, was not allowed as testimony in court. Charles Lynch wasn't allowed to defend himself.
Will a California Court Martyr Charles Lynch or Avoid Disaster?
Come Monday morning where Charles is in court to hear what the rest of his life will be like, I wonder where Eric Holder will be ? Will he have called the Judge that refuse to let even the term "Medical Marijuana" be used and ask that the charges be dropped, or maybe even just ask for a new trial ? Could it be that he will call his friend the Pres. and ask him for his first pardon ? Some how I doubt any of those things will happen but if they don't you can bet Charlie will fast grow into a bigger Martyr than his is today. That might not be a good thing or it could just be the final straw that galvanizes the country to finally legalize Marijuana. We don't need another martyr.