News - Local - North Coast

Tuesday, Aug. 05, 2008

Ex-pot shop owner’s case in jury’s hands

Charles Lynch of Arroyo Grande was charged with federal crimes for selling medical marijuana

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After more than a week of testimony, a Los Angeles jury began deliberations late Monday in the trial of former Morro Bay pot dispensary owner Charles Lynch.

Lynch was charged in U. S. District Court in July 2007, shortly after the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration raided Lynch’s dispensary that March.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office later accused Lynch, who lives in Arroyo Grande, of selling pot for profit and distributing it to minors.

The case has garnered national media attention, along with several similar incidents of dispensary raids and criminal charges throughout California.

California law allows the growing, distribution and use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. But federal law prohibits it under any circumstances.

The closure of Lynch’s business sparked an outcry from some local residents who use marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Elaine McKellips of Atascadero sued the county and Sheriff Pat Hedges in late June. Her suit, filed in San Luis Obispo Superior Court, claimed that the closure of the dispensary violated her constitutional right to medical cannabis.

Representatives of the U. S. Attorney’s Office would not comment on the closing arguments made during Monday’s hearing.

However the crux of the prosecution’s case was the argument that the possession, cultivation and sale of marijuana is illegal and that it serves no medical purpose, according to officials with the U. S. Attorney’s Office.

A call to federal public defender Reuven Cohen, one of Lynch’s two defense attorneys, was not returned.

One of Lynch’s lawyers hinted during opening statements that the man had sought — and presumably received — approval from an official with the federal DEA before he set up shop.

The Los Angeles Times contributed to this report.