U.S. TO APPEAL RULING SUPPORTING POT CLUB

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- The Justice Department will appeal a district
court judge's ruling that clears the way for an Oakland club to
distribute marijuana for medicinal purposes, according to court
documents filed in federal court Tuesday.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Quinlivan submitted a notice to appeal to
the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Last week's decision by U.S.
District Court Judge Charles R. Breyer could clear the way for a slew
of new marijuana clubs. Quinlivan declined to comment Tuesday.

The victory for the Oakland club is the latest development in a
years-old conflict between federal narcotics regulations and
Proposition 215, which has been tangled up in court since California
voters approved it in 1996.

The California initiative allows seriously ill patients to grow and
use marijuana for pain relief, with a doctor's recommendation, without
being prosecuted under state law.

But federal law says marijuana has no medical purpose and cannot be
administered safely under medical supervision.

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

Under Breyer's decision, the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative
could provide marijuana to those who face imminent harm from serious
medical conditions, and to those for whom legal alternatives to
marijuana don't work or cause intolerable side effects.

In his ruling, Breyer noted that the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
had ordered him in September to consider an exemption for patients who
face imminent harm and have no effective legal alternative to marijuana.

The appellate panel found the government had failed to rebut evidence
that marijuana is the only effective treatment for a large group of
seriously ill patients.