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Obama's DOJ Won't Intervene in Charlie Lynch Case
The Justice Department announced (pdf) over the weekend that it will not intervene in the case of Charlie Lynch, the California man convicted on federal charges of drug distribution despite the fact that his business was legal under California law. The federal judge in Lynch’s case had postponed Lynch’s sentencing to inquire if the Obama administration might want to back off, given Attorney General Holder’s recent statements about not prosecuting medical marijuana distributors who are complying with state and local law.
It would be merely disappointing had the DOJ based its decision not to intervene on the fact that a verdict had already been rendered in Lynch’s case. But the DOJ response goes much further, specifically stating that the entire prosecution of Lynch is consistent with the government’s new position on medical marijuana, as laid out by Holder. It’s hard to say, then, exactly what distinguishes Obama’s position on medical marijuana from Bush’s. Lynch sought out and received assurance from state and local authorities that he was in complete compliance with state and local law. If that isn’t enough to meet Holder’s new policy, what is?
The decision looks particularly ugly in light of Obama’s continuing efforts to protect former President Bush's torture team from prosecution—from Dick Cheney, John Yoo, and Jay Bybee on down to the CIA operatives who actually administered the torture techniques. The message from Obama seems to be that when it comes to powerful government employees and covert agents breaking the law, he’s going to “look forward” and do everything he can to protect them from being held accountable, up to and including questionable assertions of executive power. Regular people who may violate ambiguous laws, on the other hand, can expect no such “looking forward,” just more of the same: the full brunt force of government crashing down on top of them.
Background on Charlie Lynch’s case:
Kyle Jordan|4.20.09 @ 11:19AM|#
This is change I can believe in.
Yo, fuck the Presidents of the United States and their
administrations! Each and every one of them.
Xeones|4.20.09 @ 11:22AM|#
Damn, Kyle. Steal a dude's thunder.
Fuck the DOJ, yo. I love how we can't have ANYBODY in the fucking
administration do any goddamn thing that might make a lick of
sense.
Kyle Jordan|4.20.09 @ 11:22AM|#
Yeah I forgot to give you the shout out on the one X. Sorry 'bout that.
Taktix®|4.20.09 @ 11:26AM|#
Great, my Monday morning dose of BalkoDepression...
Is there a single positive development for freedom? Anything?
Fuck!
Xeones|4.20.09 @ 11:26AM|#
The Feds won't intervene NOW? Why the fuck did they intervene by raiding the dispensary in the first place?
Kyle Jordan|4.20.09 @ 11:29AM|#
"Is there a single positive development for freedom?
Anything?"
Shit like this brings us closer to The American Revolution
2.0?
Yeah, I know it's a stretch...
Xeones|4.20.09 @ 11:34AM|#
Actually, this is entirely consistent with the DHS memo we've all been kicking around. Lynch believed in the 10th Amendment, and therefore he's a terrorist, so of course the DOJ won't do shit to keep him out of prison. He's lucky they don't ship him to Bagram.
|4.20.09 @ 11:38AM|#
Is anyone actually surprised? I mean, really? One of the
distinguishing things about Obama, at least for me, is that he made
zero unambiguous promises to do something positive...everything was
mealy-mouthed. That's usually a crystal clear (ironically)
indicator that the person is being deceptive.
I'm constantly vindicated in my anarchism. It's great to be right,
except it's...totally not.
Warty|4.20.09 @ 11:40AM|#
Hold on, let me put on my surprised face.
...
OK, there we go. WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?!?!?
|4.20.09 @ 11:40AM|#
Aren't we NATO allies with the Netherlands? How do we justify
being so close with such an evil, evil country like that? They also
allow prostitution!
Is this why we haven't done anything about global warming? We
want the sea level to rise so those pesky Dutch potheads
can drown. It all makes so much sense now.
hmm|4.20.09 @ 11:51AM|#
Imagine that. Lip service from a politician and an
administration.
The change was in the PR department, not the administration
department.
squarooticus|4.20.09 @ 12:02PM|#
Remember the retards who
were telling us that Obama would be better than McCain on at least
drug policy/torture/human rights?
Yeah. So how's that working out?
Not that I wanted McCain either, but the silver lining of being
buttraped by Obama &co. without dinner/lube/reacharound is that
my stance on democracy is vindicated day by day.
The people get the government they deserve.
SpongePaul|4.20.09 @ 12:07PM|#
They also allow prostitution!
________________________________
So does Nevada! Yeah Vegas
|4.20.09 @ 12:12PM|#
Its about power. Go back to this post with the
quote:
For quite a while, but especially over the last nine months, the best way to predict developments in politics and finance has been to ask: what will do the most to increase the concentration of power? Every headline, from the Geithner regulatory plan to the proposed cap on the charitable deduction, to the resignation of the General Motors CEO, should be viewed in that light.
IceTrey|4.20.09 @ 12:15PM|#
Last week "Attack of the Show" had a segment where they went to several L.A. cannabis dispensaries. There was weed all over the place being sold openly and without any cops anywhere in sight! Why is poor Charlie being singled out when there are tons of others doing the exact same thing. The DOJ has no shame!
IceTrey|4.20.09 @ 12:17PM|#
BTW did anyone see "Family Guy" last night! It was about Brian
getting weed legalized and it was freaking hilarious!
"Everythings better with a bag o' weed"!
|4.20.09 @ 12:27PM|#
Trey, I wasn't thrilled with Family Guy last night. They kind of pussied out on the whole "but weed is still bad" shit coming from Lois.
Warty|4.20.09 @ 12:27PM|#
Why do I feel so sick?
Why did I dare to believe?
Now you're wiser. Don't do it again.
JB|4.20.09 @ 12:37PM|#
It's just case one million of Obama lying. Every word that comes out of his mouth is a lie.
|4.20.09 @ 12:44PM|#
Yeah, my position on the government and what we should do about
it keeps being vindicated on a daily basis, too. And to paraphrase
Episiarch, it's great to be right -- oh yeah, no it isn't.
So what are we to do, folks? If the nature of the biennial
good-cop, bad-cop scam isn't clear to everyone by now, they're not
just not paying attention, they're comatose. And if they get it,
how to motivate them to fix the problem?
|4.20.09 @ 12:53PM|#
I will say that it does feel good to know that a growing number
of lefties are beginning to see Mr. O as their very own GW Bush:
Saying one thing to get elected and doing pretty much the exact
opposite once in power. Of course, the actions of both men are
consistent with each other's. The class war, if there is any, is
actually between the ruled and the rulers. Mr. Bush and Mr. Obama
style themselves members of the latter class, of course, and lump
people such as Charlie Lynch in with the former. The
double-standard is alive and well.
Perhaps, in this world of dwindling daily newspapers, there is
still room for one more: "The Double Standard," with its "agenda"
to expose the disparities between "them" and "us." You could
publish a daily edition the size of the L.A. telephone book and
still not run out of material.
|4.20.09 @ 1:14PM|#
Obama's drug war improvements aren't going to begin with some white entrapreneur. I do still think he'll make some changes, but they will be aimed at the drug war's impact on minorities. Of course, any changes are better than nothing.
|4.20.09 @ 1:18PM|#
Radley,
You need to pass the info around to other members of the Reason
staff. I keep seeing the claim that Obama is better than Bush on
medical MJ blithely asserted on H&R blog posts.
Green Devil|4.20.09 @ 1:51PM|#
Is there a single positive development for freedom?
Anything?
its 4.20
And I've got the evil green devil filling my phat cells.
Want a quick cure to the madness that is our country?
Everyone light up, go out side and give the sky a bog fat
finger.
Joel|4.20.09 @ 2:14PM|#
He's lucky they don't ship him to Bagram.
The day is young.
I just can't WAIT to celebrate "Presidents' Day" next
year!
Whatcha gonna burn?
|4.20.09 @ 3:57PM|#
JAM, if I ever start a paper (OK really probably a website, cuz, you know, papers suck) I'm stealing that title. Hat tip included in the first issue, of course.
Ramsey|4.20.09 @ 4:26PM|#
I just sent this to Whitehouse.gov:
I am a graduate student finishing a PhD in Environmental Chemistry
at the University of Wisconsin, and I proudly voted for President
Obama hoping that there would be a new era of governance, in which
outcomes outweighed ideologies and government reflected the
interest of the governed and not established interest groups. I
arrived at this belief after watching several stirring speeches and
debates.
I realize that a great deal of political and mental capital is
being expended dealing with foreign policy and the economic
downturn, but I am disheartened at the recent cavalier treatment of
the rather serious problem of drug policy in this country. The
latest episode in the embarrassing history of our war on drugs is
the federal sentencing of Charlie Lynch, a California man tried for
medical marijuana sales in accordance with state law. The DOJ has
recently stated that they will not seek to limit sentencing, and
that his conviction was in line with new DOJ policy under
Holder.
The drug war has been a multi-decade and multi billion dollar
boondoggle, with little or no marginal impact on drug use
statistics, price, or availability. It is almost solely responsible
for the embarrassingly high incarceration rate, as well as the
creation of a thriving and increasingly violent black market.
How do you reconcile the behavior of the DOJ with earlier promises
to limit the federal prosecution of low level drug offenders, and
in particular with state medical marijuana laws?
Any bets on how long it takes them to get back to me?
Ellen Komp|4.20.09 @ 4:55PM|#
Thanks for drawing the comparison to the Obama administration's leniency against Bush administration torturers. I am also disgusted at Obama's failure to speak out for reinstituting the assault weapons ban to quell the violence in Mexico that began when the ban expired; instead as usual the "drug trade" will be (ineffectively) targeted with increasing militarization and expense. Ted Stevens and war criminals are off the hook, but poor Charlie Lynch and the other federal defendants/prisoners are SOL. Thanks, Reason, for remembering them. Write your Congress critters!!
|4.20.09 @ 5:46PM|#
I am also disgusted at Obama's failure to speak out for
reinstituting the assault weapons ban to quell the violence in
Mexico that began when the ban expired;
Tell us, Ellen, how much of the violence in Mexico is committed
with
(a) the rather limited class of semi-automatic rifles that became
legal again with the expiration of the ban, that
(b) were acquired in the US?
Keep in mind, that an estimated 18%, at most, of the weapons used
in criminal activity in Mexico, came from the US.
cuernimus|4.20.09 @ 7:22PM|#
Keep in mind, that an estimated 18%, at most, of the weapons used in criminal activity in Mexico, came from the US.
And that many (possibly most) of these guns were weapons purchased
by the Mexican government specifically to fight their drug war that
then ended in the hands of the cartels once their owners
defected.
|4.21.09 @ 2:30AM|#
O:...and I promise you, my DEA and DoJ will respect local and
state laws.
ME: You have no problem with state and local laws that are not
compatible with federal rules?
O: That's exactly my position.
ME: So, in this state, where marijuana use has been made legal, no
federal agents will make drug arrests in defiance of state
laws?
O: I completely respect the ability of each state to make its own
choices in these matters.
ME: (lighting up a jay and taking a deep drag) Great! I've been
needing to unwind for a while. Want a hit?
O: (gesturing wildly to hidden agents) The candle is lit! The
candle is lit! Now! Now! Take him DOWN!
(Later that evening. O sits in the Oval Office staring reflectively
out the window)
O: (leaning back and taking a heavy toke of evidence) That guy had
some GOOOOOOOOOD shit.
Andrew|4.21.09 @ 5:32PM|#
Whenever I read about stuff like this, it's so disenheartening.
I'm always reminded of an Onion article, "Nation's liberals
suffering from outrage fatigue", but it's really pretty
depressing.
For whatever reason, I keep getting more tempted to think of the
90's and Clinton as "the good old days". Never thought I'd say
it.
dfd|4.21.09 @ 7:30PM|#
I keep seeing the claim that Obama is better than Bush on
medical MJ blithely asserted on H&R blog posts.
Really? Where? Most, if not everything, I've seen since the
election has been either skeptically waiting, if not outright
disappointed. I don't think I've seen a single post asserting any
such thing as you claim, but then again I'm not here every day so
maybe I missed them. Care to share any links?
Federale|4.22.09 @ 4:14PM|#
So, lets see if I understand this: Moron decides to go into the
business of selling marijuana after the Supreme Court rules that
federal laws are separate and distinct from state laws, therefore
what is legal under state law may be illegal under federal law.
Moron calls the federal agency responsible for enforcing the
federal law and asks questions about state law and city ordinances.
Anounces to federal agency that he is violating federal law and
dares them to prosecute him.
Moron hires employees who then sell marijuana to state law
enforcement officers.
Moron sells marijuana to federal agents.
Moron is arrested and shocked, shocked, that he faces life in
prison.
Moron cries and claims he was entrapped.
Moron goes to jail.
Smooth operator.
|4.22.09 @ 6:20PM|#
What I want to know is who will be the last to be incarcerated
in this bogus war against drugs? If Charlie gets time, I hope it's
at Lompoc, which would be the least the feds could do for him, and
may that time, however short, pass quickly and safely.
Hey eric holder, get your butt out to L.A. tomorrow morning, and
settle this travesty.
|4.23.09 @ 12:29AM|#
Wait. Let me get this straight.
Federal Law is Moronic.
State sets up their own law which is slightly less moronic.
Everyone suffers because of Mexican Druglords have lobbyists in
Washington paying money to politicians to keep it illegal so they
can still profit.
|4.23.09 @ 3:04PM|#
It's a plant as we all know, and yet another citizen is
railroaded.
Free Charlie Lynch now!
What's 20 million drug arrests anyway?
We have a prison complex to run boys!
There is a method to their madness...and the new "prez" ain't
likely to make history by intervening, except when it comes to
bailouts.
|4.23.09 @ 9:07PM|#
Yup, you heard it here folks! Protect those who perpetuated
crimes of torture on a national level!
Annihilate those who followed something legal in their area that
was working to help the sick.
No no, there's nothing flawed with this "logic" here!
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