FEDERAL COURT GIVES GREEN LIGHT TO MEDICAL MARIJUANA

U.S. Court Reinstates Medical Marijuana

Seriously Ill California Patients Can Obtain It

SAN FRANCISCO -- Seriously ill patients with no alternative but marijuana
to alleviate their conditions will now be able to obtain the drug legally
from a group in Oakland, Calif., a federal judge ruled yesterday.

Modifying an injunction that shut down several marijuana clubs two years
ago, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer has given the Oakland Cannabis
Buyers' Cooperative a green light to distribute marijuana to patients who
meet certain requirements: They must have a serious medical condition; they
will suffer imminent harm without marijuana; and they have no legal
alternative to marijuana for effective treatment.

In his ruling, Breyer said the government had failed to prove why seriously
patients should not have legal access (to) the drug.

Supporters of medicinal marijuana use hailed the decision, saying many
patients would benefit. Specifically, they said medicinal marijuana could
help curb weight loss in AIDS patients, alleviate nausea induced by
chemotherapy in cancer patients, treat glaucoma and ease chronic pain
associated with multiple sclerosis.

Jeff Jones, executive director of the Oakland club, called for the federal
government to take the next step and reclassify marijuana as "an accepted
therapeutic plant." Jones said that his club, with about 5,000 registered
members, might reopen as early as this week.

Originally shut down by the Justice Department along with five other clubs,
the Oakland club was the only one to file suit. Breyer's decision is
expected to prompt many of the clubs to re-open, as well as motivate the
opening of new clubs, some advocates said.

In 1996, California passed Proposition 215, an initiative allowing the
medicinal use of marijuana, but the measure has been embroiled in legal
battles ever since.