POT RULING A 'BUMP IN ROAD,' CLUB SAYS

Oakland Group Awaits Case Review By Appeals Court

SAN FRANCISCO -- An Oakland medical marijuana club, barred by the U.S.
Supreme Court from dispensing pot to sick people, says the legal setback is
merely a "bump in the road" and that the true test lies ahead when a lower
court reviews the case more closely.

The court voted 7-1 Tuesday to grant an emergency Clinton administration
request and postpone the federal court rulings that would have allowed the
Oakland Cannabis Buyer's Cooperative to distribute the illegal drug for
medicinal use.

It's the latest legal rift between federal narcotics laws and Proposition
215, the initiative approved by voters in 1996 which created a state
provision for medical marijuana use and distribution.

The Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative said it hasn't given out marijuana
to ailing AIDS and cancer patients for almost two years since a court
injunction against doing so was put in place.

But the cooperative hopes to prevail on the merits of the case before the
9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and resume giving out cannabis buds and
pot brownies to qualified patients.

The cooperative's attorney, Robert Raich, called the high court's decision
a politically motivated move to cripple the club's state-granted rights to
provide medical marijuana.

"This is just a bump in the road, and we will have other opportunities at
future proceedings to present this case on its merits," Raich said.

The case goes back to the appeals court, and the club's briefs are due
Sept. 19.

Raich believes the government needs to show it is tough on drugs because of
the upcoming presidential election. "Even if that means preventing some
seriously ill Americans from getting access to the medicine they so
desperately need."

The club continues to issue identification cards and sell hemp products
while the legal issues regarding medical marijuana are ironed out. The club
has about 3,000 members.

Despite the fight for pot rights in California, federal law says marijuana
has no medical purposes and cannot be administered safely under medical
supervision.

Initiatives similar to California's have been passed in Alaska, Arizona,
Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington state.