TRIAL OF MARIJUANA DISPENSARY OWNER GOES TO JURY

Lawyers for Charles Lynch of Morro Bay Say a DEA Agent Gave the
Defendant Misleading Advice That Amounted to Entrapment.

A closely watched trial involving conflicting marijuana laws went to
a federal court jury Monday, with jurors asked to determine if the
owner of a Morro Bay pot dispensary is guilty of violating federal drug laws.

During a week-and-a-half-long trial in U.S. District Court in Los
Angeles, federal prosecutors sought to depict Charles Lynch, the
owner of the dispensary, as a common drug dealer who sold pot to
teenagers and carried a backpack stuffed with cash.

Lynch is charged with distributing marijuana, conspiring to
distribute marijuana and providing marijuana to people under the age of 21.

He faces a minimum of five years in federal prison if convicted.

Lynch's defense attorneys sought to portray him as a responsible
businessman who had the blessing of Morro Bay's mayor and city
attorney before opening his Central Coast Compassionate Caregivers.

Moreover, they argued, he was told by an official with the Drug
Enforcement Administration that enforcement on such facilities would
be left up to local authorities, implying that Lynch would avoid
federal prosecution if he obeyed the local laws.

That became the basis for their defense, known as entrapment by
estoppel, in which a defendant essentially argues that he broke the
law based on bad advice from a government official.

Prosecutors scoffed at the argument. They called to the witness stand
a DEA agent who they said spoke with Lynch, and she said she never
would have given him such advice.

The cultivation, use and sale of doctor-prescribed marijuana is
allowed in some instances under California law.

But the drug is banned altogether under federal law, which supersedes
those of the states.

The U.S. Supreme Court has prohibited defendants from mounting a
"medical necessity" defense, so Lynch's lawyers did not elicit
testimony from patients or their parents.

During the trial in front of U.S. District Judge George Wu,
prosecutors focused on Lynch's marijuana sales, which they said
generated about $2 million from the time he opened his doors in
spring 2006 until he was raided by federal agents about 11 months later.

They called undercover operatives who bought drugs from the facility
and sheriff's deputies and DEA agents who participated in the raid.

Following two days of often dry testimony, Deputy Federal Public
Defender Reuven Cohen called Lynch to the witness stand.

"Mr. Lynch, did you have some marijuana in that marijuana dispensary
of yours?" he asked.

"Yes," Lynch replied, drawing laughs from supporters.

That Lynch allegedly believed he was operating under California law
is not a permitted defense.

But his attorneys did present testimony from the mayor and city
attorney of Morro Bay, both of whom described him as a law-abiding citizen.

"In my dealings with him, he followed all the rules," City Atty.
Robert Schultz said.