Marijuana Dispensary Owner Found Guilty—Federal Law Always Wins

Charles Lynch runs Central Coast Compassionate Caregivers in Morro Bay—a dispensary for medical marijuana. Under the state law approved by voters in 1996, that’s perfectly legal, and Lynch has the support of Morro Bay’s Mayor. But yesterday in Los Angeles a federal court jury convicted Lynch of selling and distributing marijuana. Marijuana is illegal under federal law, and the US Supreme Court has ruled that federal law prevails. Lynch could be sentenced to between 5 and 85 years in federal prison.