ARREST CASTS SHADOW OVER FUTURE DISPENSARIES

Local Residents Who Use Medicinal Marijuana Fear The Indictment Of
The Morro Bay Shop'S Ex-Owner Could Discourage Plans For Future Dispensaries

Local residents who use marijuana medicinally have no place to
legally purchase pot in the county, and some fear Tuesday's federal
indictment of the former owner of a Morro Bay dispensary will
discourage any shops in the future.

U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration officials indicted Charles Lynch
on federal charges of selling marijuana for profit and distributing
it to minors.

Lynch ran Compassionate Caregivers, the county's only marijuana
dispensary before it closed after being raided in April by federal
drug enforcement agents and county Sheriff's Department officials.

He was released this week on $400,000 bond and is expected to be
arraigned in a Los Angeles federal court Monday, according to his San
Luis Obispo attorney, Louis Koory.

Koory said federal authorities are distorting the truth about the
dispensary selling marijuana to minors. Two were listed in the
indictment who went to the dispensary with their parents and a
physician's recommendation. The others were between 18 and 21 and had
doctors' recommendations, Koory said.

He also pointed to money federal investigators are calling a profit,
which he said was actually used to pay expenses to run the dispensary.

"Their decision to prosecute medical pot dispensaries is a political
one," Koory said. "If Charles Lynch did everything proper and lawful
under state law, he would still technically be in violation of federal law."

Since the county's Public Health Department began issuing medical
marijuana identification cards in December, 56 county residents have
received cards, said county Health Officer Greg Thomas.

The $131 card is necessary to purchase marijuana from a dispensary.
Cardholders' names are entered into a statewide database so law
enforcement can verify them.

Thomas said he doesn't know where local residents are filling their
prescriptions for

marijuana but has heard rumors that some people were trying to buy it
on the street because they cannot get to a dispensary in another county.

Atascadero resident Elaine McKellips said the nearest dispensary now
is in Buellton, which is too far for people like her, who don't drive.

"They're making it harder to get medical marijuana in San Luis Obispo
County," she said.

The 55-year-old has a prescription for marijuana to relieve nausea
and other symptoms caused by her complex stomach disorder,
gastroparesis. She said she hopes the county and residents don't
punish future dispensaries for any crimes that may have been
committed by this one.

Property owner Kent Connella has proposed opening a dispensary in
Templeton. He could not be reached for comment this week on whether
Lynch's arrest had changed his plans.

The county Planning Commission is scheduled to vote Thursday on
Connella's proposal. County planner Kami Griffin said Wednesday that
Lynch's arrest would not change the county's recommendation that the
commission approve the Templeton dispensary.

The proposal, she said, is consistent with a county ordinance
allowing medical marijuana dispensaries in some unincorporated inland areas.

However, the proposal has prompted opposition from many in the
community, including Supervisor Harry Ovitt, the Templeton Unified
School District and Templeton Chamber of Commerce.

Sgt. Brian Hascall, a Sheriff's Department spokesman, said his agency
remains opposed to the plan. "We've come out in opposition to it
solidly since they announced they wanted to open the place," he said.
"Our biggest thing is that there really is no regulation."

Tribune staff writers Sarah Arnquist, Stephen Curran and Leslie
Parrilla contributed to this report.