JUSTICE DEPT. WANTS RULING ON CANNABIS CLUB REVIEWED

OAKLAND -- The Department of Justice asked the Supreme Court yesterday to
review an appeals court ruling that led a district judge last week to allow
an Oakland medicinal-marijuana club to dispense cannabis to seriously ill
patients.

Federal prosecutors said the appeals court erred in arguing that "medical
necessity is a defense" from the absolute ban on marijuana under federal
drug laws. The attorneys said the ruling last September "threatens the
government's ability to enforce the federal drug laws."

Based on the appeals court decision, District Judge Charles Breyer last
week modified his 1998 order that shut down several Northern California
medicinal-marijuana clubs. The Justice Department is also appealing
Breyer's ruling last week.

Jeff Jones, executive director of the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative,
said yesterday that the club has not yet begun dispensing cannabis.