MARIJUANA DISTRIBUTION BLOCKED

LOS ANGELES - The U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday barred a California clinic
from distributing marijuana to patients for medicinal purposes, throwing
into turmoil the state's groundbreaking law that allows the practice.

Acting on an emergency request from the Clinton administration, the court
voted 7 to 1 to prohibit the operations of an Oakland cannabis club that is
at the center of a four-year legal battle between the federal and state
governments.

But the court's decision neither overturns the medicinal marijuana
initiative that California voters approved in 1996 nor effectively ends
distribution of the drug to patients around the state.

That main issue of Proposition 215's legality is still before a federal
appeals court. And because of the uncertain situation - the federal
government insists marijuana distribution to people with cancer, AIDS and
other diseases is illegal - local governments around California continue to
allow patients either to grow marijuana on their own or use it with the
blessing of health departments.

A few other cannabis clubs operate with local support; others have gone
underground for the time being.

The Justice Department sought the Supreme Court's help after a federal
court this summer allowed the Oakland club to keep distributing marijuana
to patients with a doctor's prescription, until the legal case is resolved.

Federal lawyers had argued that the ruling set a dangerous precedent and
provided a justification for illegal drug trafficking.

Five other states, including Oregon, have approved the use of medicinal
marijuana. The issue will be on the ballot in two others, Nevada and
Colorado, in November.

Advocates for using marijuana medicinally expressed concern that Tuesday's
decision signaled that the Supreme Court may eventually strike down
California's law. But for now they said it would not have significant
implications for most patients around the state who are using the drug.

"The clubs are only part of this - there are other ways that local
governments are giving it their tacit approval and helping patients," said
Gina Pesulima, a spokeswoman for Americans For Medical Rights, a group that
led the campaign for the California law and other similar ones around the
country.