I’m getting involved in the case of Charles Lynch. I never met the guy, but I’ve done my research. He’s a guy in his mid 40s, no criminal record, who opened a medical marijuana shop in his hometown in California. It’s entirely legal here. City officials came to the ribbon cutting and he got a state business license and complied with all state and local laws. Then the DEA raided him and took him to federal court. At his trial, they were not allowed to tell the jury about state law, or about medical marijuana. They just talked about the volumes that he sold. They weren’t allowed to produce receipts that showed it was for medical use only, or even hint at the fact that this was legal under the laws of California. To the jury, it sounded like he was dealing drugs out of his backpack. They found him guilty and he is looking at spending the rest of his life in jail. (sentencing is in October)
I don’t really care about marijuana. If this were in one of the 35 states where medical marijuana isn’t legal, this would be unfortunate, but not a travesty. But this guy’s only crime is getting caught in the DEA’s vendetta against the state of California for allowing medical marijuana. (And since medical marijuana was passed by referendum, it’s a vendetta against the people of California, how fucked up is that?)
I’ve posted about it on my blog (http://therealsavoy.blogspot.com) and Sinn has as well (http://sinnsofattraction.blogspot.com). I’m going to include one para in my newsletter this weekend. Charles Lynch’s own site is www.friendsofccl.com.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I really appreciate this. You’re the man.
Good luck for that.
But… what can we do about this? Do you have any “solution”?
Thank you very much for posting this. It means a lot to me and to Charles C. Lynch. I appreciate all the responses we’re getting because of Savoy.
Ced,
I’ve come up with a list of how You can help Charles C. Lynch (this is also posted on Savoy’s blog, my blog and Charlie’s website):
~ We are planning a protest for 10/6 which is the next day Charlie will be in the Federal Courthouse in Downtown LA. Court support will start at 8am and rally will begin at 11am. The courthouse is located at 312 N. Spring Street, Los Angeles. Protesters are encouraged to bring acoustic instruments to the rally. WE NEED AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE TO ATTEND.
~ Email Charles*
*http://www.friendsofccl.com/contact.htm
~ Donations*. Charles Lynch has been unable to find work since the DEA and Local Sheriffs department violently raided his home and business. If everyone donated a $1 that would be helpful. If people can afford more that’s great. I know one senior-citizen medical-cannabis patient who donated $50 because she knew she wasn’t going to be able to physical support as much as she wants to.
*http://www.friendsofccl.com/donate.htm
~ Offer Charles a job. He’s a software engineer by trade and lives in San Luis Obispo county.
~ Write Judge Wu and plead for Charlie’s freedom. Supporters who wish to write a letter of support regarding sentencing should use the Letter salutation “Dear Judge Wu” and then send the letter to: Reuven Cohen Federal Public Defender at 321 East 2nd Street Los Angeles, CA 90012-4702. A sample outline can be found on Charlie’s website*. I’ve written 3 letters myself (I had 2 other patients sign one of those letters each). And I’m continuing to write letters.
*http://www.friendsofccl.com/index.html
~contact the media to tell them about this story and let them know how you feel.
~contact your congress people. E-mail, phone, write, and visit your Senators and your House of Representatives. If you don’t know who your House of Representatives Congress member is go to http://www.house.gov and put your zip code +4 in the upper left-hand corner. if you don’t know who your Senators are go to http://www.senate.gov. You can even visit your congress member’s offices fairly close to your own home because they have satellite offices throughout their districts. Contacting Congress is vital because laws change in Congress and the only reason why the DEA and federal prosecutors are allowed to do what they’re doing is because of a federal law; that law needs to be changed.
~ Pray for Charlie’s freedom and for Judge Wu to use divine justice.
~ Spread the word about Charles C. Lynch and the protest. Talk to family, friends, associates, co-workers, classmates, schoolmates, roommates, lovers, anyone who will listen. Ask them what they think about the situation. If they don’t know that much, inform them. Forward this info to everyone on your email list. Repost this on facebook, myspace, craigslist, live journal, blogspot, and any other website or forum you frequent.
~ Thank those that have been fighting for justice in this situation.
~ Join organizations like Americans for Safe Access, Marijuana Policy Project, NORML, etc. These organizations are making changes in legislation so people like Charles C. Lynch do not have to suffer at the hands of the Federal government.
LINKS to articles:
~http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-weed26-2008jul26,0,6418930.story
~http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-medpot5-2008aug05,0,2892714.story
~http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-pot6-2008aug06,0,516054.story
~http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/suncommentary/la-oe-yoshino17-2008aug17,0,6932017.story
~http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/health/2008/08/03/finnstrom.medical.marijuana.trial.cnn?iref=videosearch
~http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=93697469&m=93697443
~http://www.kcrw.com/news/programs/ww/ww080806when_state_and_feder
~http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle_blog/2008/aug/05/dea_secures_another_medical_mari
Thank you every body for your support. It is a great feeling to know that the people are there with me.
Charles C. Lynch
mmmmm….pot!
Yeah – Ced – head on over to his site – http://www.friendsofccl.com – there’s a whole list of things over there that you can do.
Another good thing you can do is post in various placed and link to this post (which would be nice for Donovan for agreeing to put this up) and to Charles’ site above.
This is seriously a travesty. The feds are just bullies out to prove that they are bigger and badder than the states, than the people. Thomas Jefferson, and all of the founding fathers believed FIRST AND FOREMOST in State’s Rights! That is what this country is founded on, yet what has been taken away from us with the war on drugs. Oh, I mean the ILLEGAL war on drugs! It was actually the DEA which set the schedule of drugs – the DEA has no authority to pass laws.
The ‘War on Drugs’ being waged at a cost of hundreds of millions of tax dollars a year only does a few things: it keeps the violent cartels in business, it keeps the borders overflowing with criminals, it keeps the drug trade violent, it keeps the money flowing out of the country instead of staying here with home-growers, it turns ordinary recreational drug users into criminals, it costs hundreds of millions of dollars to house non-violent drug offenders in prison, it keeps us from collecting tax on a major business, it distorts perceptions between relatively safe drugs such as marijuana vs. deadly drugs like meth, it keeps doctors from prescribing what they feel is the best medicine for sick and dying folk, it creates an ‘us vs. them’ mentality in youth towards their government, it keeps drugs from being monitored for dangerous toxins, it keeps the HIV rate high, it gives the police and the government permission to invade peaceful people’s lives for no good reason. One thing it in NO way does, is reduce the amount of drugs our people are using, or help them recover from addiction in any way!