Lynching Charlie Lynch, Medical Marijuana Martyr: Q&A with Filmmaker Rick Ray
In 2006, Charlie Lynch opened a medical marijuana dispensary in Morro Bay, California. He was such a stickler about following California state law that he called all the legal authorities he could. The ribbon-cutting for his shop was attended by local pols and chamber of commerce types and his shop flourished due to his outgoing personality, dedication to customer service, and strict enforcement of all laws related to medical marijuana. In 2007, his dispensary was raided by the Drug Enforcement Administration and local sheriffs. Thus began a legal nightmare from which Lynch - and the country - has yet to awake. Placed under house arrest, threatened with an effective life sentence, and stripped of his income, Lynch became one more casuality in the war against medical marijuana. Eventually, Lynch was tried in federal court, where the Kafkaesque proceedings meant his defense was not allowed to tell jurors that medical marijuana was legal under California law. Eventually, Lynch was sentenced to a year and a day, and was allowed to be free pending an appeal that seems unlikely to ever be fully resolved. Lynch's ordeal - and the country's - is the subject of Lynching Charlie Lynch, a new documentary made by Rick Ray, who helped produce Reason.tv's original coverage of the Lynch case as it unfolded. Alex Manning and Zach Weissmueller talked to Ray about his movie, which opens today at iTunes, Amazon, and other online and on-demand venues via Brainstorm Media (www.brainmedia.net ...
Filed under Medical Cannabis by on Apr 26th, 2012. 
Comments on Lynching Charlie Lynch, Medical Marijuana Martyr: Q&A with Filmmaker Rick Ray
I agree it’s important. We should definitely legalize drugs. All of them. Let’s make it the LAST thing we do as libertarians, because it’s so polarizing, and because potheads suck. Let’s start with something even non-libertarians can get behind, like school choice. Once that’s fixed, then we can move on to the tougher stuff, aka the ideas that not as many Americans support.
The 70s hippies are NOT today’s leaders. You will find a few of them teaching at colleges (not in the science departments), but that’s about it.
Today’s potheads will also not be tomorrow’s leaders. They’ll be tomorrow’s welfare recipients, if they’re not today’s welfare recipients already.
OK, I’m bored today so will answer. The dude in the W.H. said to leave us alone. My caregiver is licensed up to his teeth to provide this medicine. I can grow in my yard or home by state law and my caregiver has more passion in his little finger than any person in federal govt. I hardly even recognize the feds as they all seem a little insane these days giving guns to drug cartels to kill their own agents, taking control of whatever they can get their sticky fingers on. I would win in court.
This story is a shiny, glittery, crystallized example of intrinsicism in the law; the idea that things, not people (or their actions) are good or bad, right or wrong, valuable or worthless. Intrinsic laws are about as medieval as you can find in modern legal theory, indistinguishable from witch hunts and trials.
This occured under the Barack Barry Obama. Don’t vote for the Manchurian Canidate.
the problem is not what pot-users do with their life and whether you approve.
the problem is forced re-appropriation of wealth.
on another note, i know plenty of highly successful present and past users of pot. maybe you’ve never worked in a university science department. i have.
Are you KIDDING? So Mcain would be softer on non violenty drug offences? Obama may suck But when it comes to the prision industrial complex conservatives are the A holes that keep this war going!
Republicans and Democrats are just two wings of the same bird of prey. Better vote Ron Paul!
The state governments are just cowards
Actually, my own mother is a former hippie and now she works 60 hours a week earning almost 100k. She’s the founder of an international ministry (not my cup of tea, but she’s the leader) and is a medical social worker who’s helped hundred of families cope with illness. And when she was my age, she did a hell of a lot more drugs than I.
The reality about drugs isn’t quite as black and white as Mr. Macky would put it.
Or they’ll be president. Like the last 3 admitted pot smokers that held office. Who knows right?
One of the MANY reasons to vote RON PAUL 2012!!!
Another Obama FAIL!
BTW, the Sheriff who did this is Patrick Hedges…He’s retired now.
Government hates competition, he should know that.
Is there anything more useless than a drug warrior?
I didn’t say they were potheads. You implied, in your first comment, that anyone who takes this issue seriously is indeed a “fucking stoner”. My point was the fact that people who fight for economic liberty, private property rights and smaller more responsible government also fight for the rights of the individual to “act stupidly”. Only in a true free society are people allowed to make mistakes. We should fight for all liberties not just the ones that you find to be acceptable.
This is what our drug war has done. Good job. Pieces of shit.
Coercion is destructive, here or anywhere.
They should look into hiring local militia to guard their dispensaries from these illegal raids. The feds will back down like the cowards they are.
His last name is perfect.
obama doesn’t care what his base thinks about this issue. he knows they will line up and vote for him again, just like good little lemmings always do.
All the best with your film.
We all need to get off of our asses and get the politicians to see it our way or vote their fat asses out. Forget the medical label, they use the excuse (The Feds) that they cannot legalize it for medical use because it is smoked. Just get them to pass it along the lines of alcohol and cigarettes and sit back and enjoy the income. The logic for not legalizing MJ is flawed and makes no sense, lets keep pointing this out to those that can effect change. Power in numbers people.
2 people are retarded