STILL NO CHARGES IN HEMPERY CASE

HAYWARD -- To those not struggling with disease, says Hayward Cannabis
Buyer's Club member Phillip Mol, the Foothill Boulevard club at the Hempery
probably just looked like a bunch of people sitting around smoking pot.

But to Mol and the 200 other clients of the club, which was shut down after
a police raid in February, it made a "huge difference" in their lives.

Mol is a 38-year-old diagnosed manic-depressive who says he was a "virtual
shut-in" before the club. Since the raid, he's gone to a club in San
Francisco to get pot.

Others -- many of whom have AIDS, cancer and other diseases -- have
resorted to buying dime bags from street dealers to get the "medicine" they
call cannabis, said Mol and club founder Bob Wilson, who was arrested in
the bust.

"I consider myself a law-abiding citizen, except for the marijuana issue,"
Mol said.

On Feb. 22, the Hayward Police Department carried out what Wilson called a
"soft raid" at the Hempery, 22580 Foothill Blvd. Officers came in with
guns, but no one was thrown to the floor. Police seized $4,000 in cash, dug
up marijuana plants and confiscated medical records. They shut down
Wilson's buyer's club, even though similar operations thrive without police
interference across California under Prop. 215.

That voter initiative legalized the use of marijuana for medical purposes.

The county has not yet alleged that Wilson is a criminal. The Alameda
County District Attorney's Office hasn't filed any charges against him.

Deputy District Attorney Jeff Rubin, part of the county's major drug dealer
prosecution team, says his office has not made a final decision whether or
not to charge Wilson.

Wilson was arrested during the raid on suspicion of possession of marijuana
for sales and for having a gun while committing other crimes. He says the
gun was for protection.

Rubin says that although his office has no time limit other than to "act in
a reasonable manner," the decision on charges will be partially based on
medical records seized in the raid. And going through those records takes a
long time, he says.

Prosecutors want to make sure Wilson was abiding by Prop. 215.

"I was going to go down there and try to get (my medical records) back but
I just don't want to expose myself to the police that much," Mol said.

For his part, Wilson is frustrated waiting for the other shoe to drop. He
interprets the delay as a tactic by the District Attorney's Office to bully
him into closing the club.

When asked if his office was dangling criminal charges over Wilson's head,
Rubin said he would not discuss the ins and outs of the case until the
charging decision is made.

The Hayward club was growing marijuana in the same building where the
Hempery is located. Wilson is careful to draw a distinction between the
club's activities and the Hempery as a retail store. The store's
merchandise includes used records, hemp clothing, and kits to help people
pass urine drug tests.

The club, Wilson says, is a cooperative designed to get cannabis to people
with doctors' recommendations, which are required by the proposition. The
club rents space from the Hempery. It raises rent money by charging an
overhead for providing cannabis, which Wilson says is normal for clubs to do.

Wilson has had a shop in downtown Hayward and has been an outspoken
medicinal marijuana advocate for several years. He uses cannabis himself
for chronic arthritis.

So why did the police pick this year to bust him?

"We're of the opinion that he's selling it for profit," said Hayward police
Capt. Manuel Silva. Narcotics investigators recently became aware that he
was growing 200-plus plants inside the building.

That, combined with their belief that Wilson was selling for illegal,
recreational use, forced them to act, police said.

Mol and other patients say Wilson is very strict about who he lets become a
member, requiring several forms plus a written recommendation from a
doctor. Wilson challenges the police department to bring forward the
"criminals" to whom he was selling.

According to a search warrant filed at the Hayward Courthouse, an
unidentified informant with a pending criminal case told police he or she
had purchased marijuana from Wilson. The warrant does not say whether that
was for medicinal use.

The warrant also was granted on the basis of a city building inspector's
statements and an undercover police officer's observations.

Wilson says that at this point he just wants to take the next step in the
legal battle.

"If they charge me, good," he said. "I'll never get convicted in Alameda
County."