Word: marijuana
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However, though enforcement on the state and federal level may now be virtually the same in the affected states, a large legal gray area remains. "They've only begun to scratch the surface on this," says Dale Gieringer, California coordinator for NORML, a group lobbying to legalize marijuana. "They're going to have to change the whole treatment of marijuana under federal law because you can't just have a law lying around and say, 'Well, we're just not going to enforce it in this case,' and leave it like that. If they don't change the law, there...
...problem is clearly evidenced by the cases of Charles C. Lynch and 30 to 40 other individuals who faced or were incarcerated for medical-marijuana-related charges before the Obama Administration relaxed its policy. Lynch was convicted in federal court in 2008 on five counts, including distributing marijuana through his dispensary, Central Coast Compassionate Caregivers, in Morro Bay, Calif. Lynch, 47, who believed he was complying with state laws regarding his clinic - he had a business license for his dispensary, a nursery license for the marijuana plants he cultivated and the blessing of city officials, including the mayor - was charged...
...March 23, the judge postponed Lynch's sentencing until April 30 and requested that prosecutors provide a written clarification from the Justice Department on the Obama Administration's position that federal agents target marijuana distributors only if they violate both state and federal laws. Thom Mrozek, spokesman for the U.S. State Attorney's Office for the Central District of California, said they were reviewing the judge's request but declined further comment...
...prosecution paints a more complex picture, contending that Lynch's operation was pervaded by marijuana transactions outside the store by his employees and customers; they claim evidence shows that, though Lynch may not have known of such transactions, "the atmosphere and example that defendant set, and that his employees and customers followed, was not one of strict compliance with the law but rather a casual, almost carnival-like attitude toward the use and distribution of marijuana." One of the most serious federal charges leveled against Lynch was that he sold the drug to more than 250 minors, which is defined...
...Marijuana advocates believe that what happens with Lynch will be a bellwether for other individuals facing charges related to medical marijuana. "All of these people are in a wild state of flux that Mr. Holder and Mr. Obama have placed them in," says Allen St. Pierre, executive director of NORML. "[Lynch] is the case that will probably inform society where we're going to go on this because he got arrested under the Bush Administration. He was a Main Street medical distributor who enjoyed the support of the town council, the mayor - quintessential local acceptance. His case has been caught...